DUNK CITY, Fla. – Riding the longest winning streak in the Division-I history of the program, the FGCU men's basketball team (19-7, 9-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) will look to stretch the run to nine in a row and earn wins number 20 overall and 10 in the league when the conference leader returns home after nearly a three-week hiatus to face Kennesaw State (9-18, 3-7 A-Sun) Thursday at 7 p.m. inside Alico Arena.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
FGCU – ranked No. 17 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll – has matched the third-longest winning streak all-time (program since 2002-03; D-I since 2007-08), and has moved alone atop the A-Sun standings, one game clear of North Florida (16-11, 8-2 A-Sun). The Eagles are three games ahead of USC Upstate (19-8, 6-4 A-Sun) for third place in the league.
 
The Green and Blue is coming off a 76-74 victory at Lipscomb (11-14, 5-5 A-Sun) on Saturday as the Bisons are now tied with Northern Kentucky (11-14, 5-5 A-Sun) for fourth place in the A-Sun. Kennesaw State is alone in sixth place after suffering a 67-51 home setback to UNF on Saturday. Stetson (8-18, 2-8 A-Sun) and Jacksonville (8-19, 2-8 A-Sun) are tied for the seventh position in the league ledger.
 
FGCU has already clinched a top-4 finish in the conference, guaranteeing itself at least a home A-Sun Tournament quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Mar. 3. The contest with Kennesaw State is the first of a three-game homestand which also features Upstate (Feb. 21) and UNF (Feb. 25) before FGCU concludes the season at Jacksonville (Feb. 28). The Eagles control their own destiny to repeat as A-Sun regular-season champions, and with three home victories would clinch the No. 1 seed and subsequent tournament hosting responsibilities throughout each round of the championship provided they do not lose.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
The game is expected to be a sellout, with a limited amount of general-admission tickets still available which can be purchased in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office, by calling 239-590-7145 or by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. Like all FGCU home games, the contest will be broadcast on ESPN3 and via the Watch ESPN app. Neil Solondz will handle the play-by-play duties with J. Webb Horton serving as the analyst.
 
Thursday is a REDOUT, with fans encouraged to wear their previously-purchased red FGCU T-Shirts, or the shirts will be available for purchase in the lobby Thursday night for $10. All proceeds go to support the American Heart Association.
 
Additionally, raffle tickets to the 2015 Final Four will be available for purchase at the marketing tables immediately upon entry into the arena. The grand prize is a trip for two to the semifinal and final games, a $1,000 travel allowance and hotel accommodations.
 
TWEETABLES (5 Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) The eight-game winning streak is only bested by a 14-game run in 2003-04 and 2006-07; the other eight-game streak was in 2002-03.
2) Jamail Jones was named A-Sun Player of the Week after scoring 49 points, shooting 17-20, 6-7 from 3 and 9-10 from the line in a pair of FGCU wins.
3) FGCU is leading the nation in 3-point percentage defense (.262). Last year it ranked 189th in that category, and three years ago was 265th.
4) The Eagles are 15-0 when out-rebounding their opponents this year, and since 2012-13 are 37-1 when leading at the half.
5) Brett Comer is 10 assists shy of 800 for his career, and 43 shy of cracking the top 25 all-time in the history of D-I college basketball.
 
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
^ Kennesaw State's nine wins are the most in a single season since the Owls recorded 13 during the 2009-10 season. The Owls have won three of their last five games, going 2-2 against A-Sun opponents in that stretch. Kennesaw State has only won two road A-Sun games in the past four years.
^ Yonel Brown leads Kennesaw State and ranks third in the conference with 15.9 points per game, is first in the A-Sun at 89.9 percent from the free-throw line and first in the league in minutes played per game (36.9). Last Thursday against Jacksonville, he set the Kennesaw State single-game record with seven 3-pointers in a 78-65 win over the Dolphins.
^ In A-Sun games, FGCU (.269) and Kennesaw State (.326) rank first and second, respectively, in 3-point percentage defense.
 
KEY FOCUS
Against A-Sun foes this year, FGCU easily leads the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 60.6 points per game – nearly five points better than any other team. Kennesaw State has only won one game this year (51-50 at Jacksonville) when scoring less than 60 points.
 
Additionally, at 37.7 percent, FGCU also leads the A-Sun in field-goal percentage defense against league competition. At 41.4 percent from the floor versus A-Sun teams this year, Kennesaw State ranks last in field-goal percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU leads the all-time series, 9-6, following a 54-48 win at Kennesaw State earlier this year, but the Eagles have won seven-straight games against Owls dating back to a 69-68 setback on the road during the 2010-11 season.
 
Kennesaw State is one of four A-Sun members that FGCU has won at least six-straight games against:
 
Kennesaw State: 7
USC Upstate: 7
Stetson: 6
Northern Kentucky: 6
 
#NESTPROTECTED
FGCU is 40-4 at Alico Arena since the start of the 2012-13 season. The four losses have come to Lipscomb, Iona, Mercer and FIU, snapping – respectively – a nine-game home-court winning streak, another nine-game streak, a 12-game stretch and a four-game run. FGCU went 15-1 in 2012-13, 15-2 last year and is 10-1 this season. In A-Sun regular-season games since 2012-13, FGCU is a dominant 21-1 inside the friendly confines of The Nest.
 
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
FGCU is statistically better in every key area at home than on the road, with the lone somewhat surprising exception being free-throw shooting. The Eagles connect at 67.8 percent (139-205) at home and 69.8 percent (118-169) on the road.
 
Category: Home / Away
PPG: 72.5 / 64.5
D-PPG: 59.5 / 67.8
FG%: 46.6 / 41.5
D-FG%: 37.4 / 41.6
3-PT%: 37.5 / 33.3
RPG: 40.7 / 35.8
APG: 15.6 / 13.2
SPG: 5.5 / 5.5
 
HOME SUPPORT
FGCU has sold out 19 of its last 27 games, and through 11 home games this year, FGCU has totaled 47,511 fans for an average of 4,319 (capacity: 4,333 + 300 standing-room only tickets). That's 30 percent of the A-Sun's total home attendance (eight teams) of 157,006.
 
BEST STARTS
At 19-7, FGCU is off to its best start to a season in D-I program history, while its 9-1 commencement to the A-Sun campaign is its best ever. The Eagles have gradually improved their record through the first 26 games of a season in all but one year since 2009-10, while its A-Sun record through 10 games has improved in each of the past five seasons:
 
YEAR: OVERALL / A-SUN (Through 26 /10 Games)
2014-15: 19-7 / 9-1
2013-14: 16-10 / 8-2
2012-13: 18-8 / 7-3
2011-12: 13-13 / 6-4
2010-11: 7-19 / 2-8
 
STREAKING WITH THE 'ZAGS
While FGCU has won eight games in a row, the women's basketball team – which cracked the top 25 this week for the first time in program history at No. 22/24 – has won 18-straight games. The only other school in the nation that has a men's basketball team and a women's basketball team each with at least an eight-game winning streak is Gonzaga. The Bulldog men have won 19 straight, while the women have claimed 15 consecutive victories.
 
RE-TWEETS (5 More Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) FGCU has held 11 opponents this year to 60 points or less in a game, and four opponents to 50 points or less.
2) The single-season program record for holding opponents to 60 or less is 13 in 2012-13, and for 50 or less is five in 2004-05.
3) In addition to FGCU's eight-game overall winning streak, the Eagles own a program-record five-game road winning streak.
4) Bernard Thompson (582) needs eight rebounds to move into second place on the program's career rebounding list (589, Sherwood Brown).
5) FGCU's current .386 field-goal percentage defense and .262 3-point percentage defense are on pace to be single-season program records.
 
A-SUN FAVORITES
For the second-straight season, FGCU is the preseason league favorite to win the A-Sun, and the Eagles were a near-unanimous selection. FGCU garnered seven of the eight first-place votes in the coaches' poll (63 points), while it received 25 of 26 first-place votes in the media poll (207 points).
 
Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) was named the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year and the A-Sun Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – the first time in at least five years the same player has been recognized with both awards. Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) and Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette) join Thompson on the A-Sun Preseason All-Conference Team as FGCU is the only school with two unanimous selections (Comer and Thompson), and is tied with the UNF for the most all-league selections with three.
 
THE ONLY ONE
FGCU is the only school in the A-Sun which has won an A-Sun Men's Basketball Championship. Conference re-alignment has drastically altered the landscape of collegiate athletics, and the A-Sun is no different. The Eagles joined the league in 2007-08 with USC Upstate, and prior to that North Florida and Kennesaw State both joined for the 2005-06 season. Lipscomb has been a member since 2003-04, Jacksonville since 1998-99 and Stetson since 1986-87. Northern Kentucky is in its third year in the A-Sun after joining in 2012-13 and has two years (including this season) of its NCAA-mandated D-I reclassification period remaining.
 
A-STUN CONFERENCE
The A-Sun has been the talk of the college basketball world the last two postseasons as FGCU and Mercer (now a Southern Conference member) have both been responsible for three major upsets in the NCAA Tournament, affectionately turning the A-Sun into the A-Stun.
 
2013 NCAA Tournament: No. 15 FGCU 78 No. 2 Georgetown 68
2013 NCAA Tournament: No. 15 FGCU 81 No. 7 San Diego State 71
2014 NCAA Tournament: No. 14 Mercer 78 No. 3 Duke 71
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Thompson is the only active player (any division) with at least 1,700 career points (1,742), 550 career rebounds (582) and 250 career steals (252). Earlier this year the guard posted a D-I program-record 34-point performance in a victory over Ohio.
 
#DUNKCITY MAESTRO
With 181 assists on the year, Comer – who has 74 more assists than anyone else in the A-Sun – ranks fifth in the nation in total assists. Comer is second among all active players in the NCAA (any division) with 790 career assists as the Dunk City orchestrator is already the A-Sun's career assist leader. Comer – who earlier this year was tabbed by ESPN as the country's seventh-best point guard – is second in the nation in assist rate at 48 percent (assists divided by the field goals made by the player's teammates while he is on the court).
 
CHALLENING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
FGCU completed a challenging non-conference schedule in which it defeated four 20-win opponents from a season ago (UC Santa Barbara, Ohio, San Francisco, Massachusetts) and another (South Dakota State) which won 19 contests. Four of FGCU's six losses came to teams ranked in the top 50 of the current RPI (five in the top 120 and none worse than 195). After getting off to 8-1 and 9-2 starts, FGCU lost four of its final five games in the 16-game non-league docket. However, due to injuries and suspensions, the Eagles only had a full roster for four non-conference games (South Dakota State, Florida Tech, UMass, FIU). FGCU's current RPI of 106 is by far the best in the A-Sun, with UNF (193) being the next-closest team.
 
#DEPTHCITY
FGCU had five different leading scorers in the first eight games this year. The Eagles have 10 players averaging at least 9.7 minutes per game (only three (Thompson, Comer, DeBose) who play at least 30 minutes per outing) and boast five players averaging at least 7.8 points per game (four who average at least 11 per game) and seven players who are averaging at least 3.3 rebounds per game.

THE MOST PROLIFIC SENIOR BACKCOURT IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thompson and Comer are not only the best backcourt in the A-Sun but also one of the best in the nation, and based on the following numbers the best senior backcourt duo in all of D-I basketball. No other senior backcourt duo has combined to produce more stats than the following (with the exception of points):
 
Points: 3,124
Leaders: 3,252 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 1,025
Next closest: 961 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 257
Next closest: 240 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 250
Next closest: 211 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 7,573
Next closest: 6,873 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
THOMPSON
Points: 1,742 – A-Sun active career leader, 18th on the all-time conference scoring list and tops on the FGCU program career scoring record. The A-Sun career scoring record is held by Willie Jackson (2,535) who played for former league member Centenary from 1980-84. Thompson is currently 15th among all active D-I players for career points. He needs 12 points to surpass Scott Emerson (Mercer, 1999-04) for 17th place on the A-Sun all-time scoring list (1,753).
 
Steals: 252 – Fourth among all active D-I players, Thompson is already FGCU's program career leader, and needs just eight more thefts this year to own the A-Sun career record (259), currently held by Vaughn Williams who played at former league member Arkansas-Little Rock from 1980-83. Williams is the only player in the history of the A-Sun who has more steals than Thompson.
 
COMER
Assists: 790 – Comer is six assists behind the NCAA active career leader (Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Smith, 796). Of the 130 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 118 times.
 
GROWING UP QUICKLY
Despite only becoming D-I postseason eligible in the 2011-12 season, FGCU has already claimed an impressive nine wins in the postseason.
 
7-2: Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
FGCU is the only school in D-I history to reach the championship game of its conference tournament in each of its first three seasons of eligibility. The Eagles went 2-1 in 2012 (lost to Belmont), 3-0 in 2013 (defeated Mercer) and 2-1 in 2014 (lost to Mercer).
 
2-1: NCAA Tournament
FGCU became the first school in NCAA history to reach the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 15 seed in 2013 when the Eagles defeated No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State en route to captivating the nation and earning the #DunkCity moniker. The Green and Blue lost to No. 3 Florida in the next round.
 
0-1: NIT
FGCU won the program's first A-Sun regular-season championship in 2014 courtesy of a 14-4 league mark. The Eagles received a No. 8 seed in the NIT and traveled to No. 1 Florida State, falling just short (58-53) to the eventual NIT semifinalists.
 
AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
For the second-consecutive year FGCU was selected by ESPN for inclusion in the worldwide leader's Midnight Madness coverage when the Eagles hosted Dunk City After Dark on Oct. 17. With that honor, FGCU joined only four other extremely tradition-rich programs which can boast that claim: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and UConn.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU continues its homestand with another crucial A-Sun matchup against USC Upstate on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
General-admission tickets for all FGCU men's basketball games at Alico Arena are still available and can be purchased by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets, in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office or over the phone at 239-590-7145. For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, and "Like" us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by second-year head coach Joe Dooley, who coached three all-conference selections during his first season and guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT. Prior to arriving in SWFL, Dooley spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas under head coach Bill Self. During those 10 seasons, Kansas produced 300 wins, nine straight Big 12 regular-season titles, six Big 12 Tournament championships, six NCAA Sweet 16s, five NCAA Elite Eight appearances and two Final Fours, including the 2008 National Championship.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.