DUNK CITY, Fla. – For the third time in only four seasons of Division-I postseason eligibility, the FGCU men's basketball team (22-10) tips it up in tournament action when the Eagles host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19-13) at Alico Arena in the opening round of the CIT (CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament) Wednesday night at 7.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
FGCU will be appearing in its third different postseason tournament in the last three years as the Eagles made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) in 2014. Since becoming D-I postseason eligible in just 2011-12, the only other tournament FGCU has not appeared in yet is the CBI (College Basketball Invitational).
 
A&M-Corpus Christi is appearing in the CIT for the second-straight year as the Islanders defeated Northern Colorado, 82-71, on the road in the first round last year before losing at Pacific, 89-60, in the second round. A&M-Corpus Christi's only other postseason appearance came in 2007 when the 15-seeded Islanders held an 18-point first-half lead over 2-seeded Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament before losing, 76-63.
 
The 32-team tournament made up of non-BCS programs is entering its seventh year and got underway Monday night with NJIT defeating New Hampshire. Five more games take place Tuesday night at campus sites before nine games are played on Wednesday and a final opening-round contest on Thursday. The CIT uses the old NIT model in which there is no set bracket. Future-round opponents are determined by the results of the previous round. Additionally, the CIT will utilize a 30-second shot clock as opposed to the normal 35-second shot clock as the NCAA experiments with potentially decreasing the time. For a complete breakdown of the tournament, visit www.2015CIT.com.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
General-admission tickets are still available for $15 and can be purchased online at FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. Additionally, a select amount of prime corporate sponsor seats have been made available to the general public for FGCU's first home postseason contest (excluding the A-Sun Tournament) as a D-I team. Fans can also secure their tickets by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office or by calling 239-590-7145. Like all FGCU home games, the contest – presented by Wells Fargo – will be broadcast on ESPN3, via the Watch ESPN app and at WatchCollegeInsider.com. David Moulton will handle the play-by-play duties with J. Webb Horton serving as the analyst. All fans are encouraged to wear white to create a WHITEOUT atmosphere.
 
TWEETABLES (5 Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) FGCU will be playing its first game in 13 days as the Eagles lost to USC Upstate in the A-Sun Tournament semifinals on Mar. 5.
2) Brett Comer (838) is just three assists shy of moving into 23rd place on the all-time NCAA career assist list.
3) Of FGCU's 29 D-I games this year, 12 were played against teams which are competing in postseason tournaments (NCAA, NIT, CIT, CBI).
4) When scoring at least 70 points this year FGCU is 14-0, and when out-rebounding their opponents the Eagles are 17-0.
5) The loss to Upstate in the A-Sun semis marked the first time this year that FGCU lost a game decided by five points or less (4-1).
 
CIT SNAPSHOT
In 2012, former A-Sun member and FGCU rival, Mercer, won the CIT. Murray State won last year's CIT, and the Racers built off that championship run for the 2014-15 season in which they were ranked No. 25 in the nation late in the season following a 25-game winning streak which was snapped in the Ohio Valley Championship game to Belmont.
 
In just six years, the CIT has provided plenty of excitement while making college basketball history in the process. The 2009 CIT provided the longest game-ending shot in D-I postseason history when Bradley's Chris Roberts hit a 75-foot heave at the buzzer to stun Oakland, 76-75, in the quarterfinals of the inaugural tournament. The following year, Fairfield rallied from 27 points down with only 16 minutes remaining to beat George Mason, 101-96, as the comeback is the largest in D-I postseason history.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI
^ A&M-Corpus Christi is led offensively by a three-headed attack of Rashawn Thomas (15.6 points per game), John Jordan (15.5) and Brandon Pye (10.0).
^ Jordan is the only active player in the nation with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in his career. The senior was named to the Southland All-Conference First Team, while Thomas was tabbed to the Second Team.
^ The Islanders are the only Southland Conference team in the last two years to defeat Stephen F. Austin, a feat they pulled off with a 71-63 victory on Feb. 14. That is the only loss SFA (29-4 and a 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament) has suffered since November when it lost to NCAA Tournament participants Northern Iowa (79-77, OT), Xavier and Baylor in consecutive outings.
^ In its regular-season finale, the Islanders held Abilene Christian to just 27 points in a 58-27 victory. The 27 points are the third-fewest allowed by any D-I team this year, trailing only Louisville (26 vs. Savannah State) and Virginia (26 vs. Rutgers).
^ A&M-Corpus Christi posted a 13-5 record in the Southland Conference and opened its league tournament with 61-58 victory over New Orleans before falling to Sam Houston State, 70-67. Sam Houston State (25-7) has the most wins of any team competing in the CIT.
 
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS
Located in Corpus Christi, Texas, the school was founded in 1947 and has an enrollment of just more than 11,000. The Islanders have been a D-I member on the basketball hardwood since 1999-00. A&M-Corpus Christi is 1-1 all-time against teams currently in the A-Sun, with both of those decisions coming against Lipscomb.
 
LOCK-DOWN DEFENSES
In its last nine games, A&M-Corpus Christi is allowing its opponents to score just 57.8 points per game. Additionally, those opponents have shot just 35.2 percent from the floor and 26.5 percent from the 3-point line, with only one team reaching 40 percent from the field overall.
 
Meanwhile, FGCU has relied on its defense all year as the Eagles rank fifth in the nation in 3-point percentage, limiting opponents to just 28.2 percent. FGCU leads the A-Sun and ranks 27th nationally by holding foes to only 39.2 percent from the field for the year.
 
RE-TWEETS (5 More Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) With 42 blocks this year, Demetris Morant is already tied for ninth on FGCU's all-time career blocked shots list.
2) Since 2012-13, FGCU is 39-1 when leading at halftime, with the lone loss coming to FIU this year (32-28 halftime score).
3) FGCU has posted 13 single-digit turnover games in the last two years. Prior to that (since 2002), there were only 10 such games in program history.
4) Bernard Thompson's 25 points against Upstate in the A-Sun semis represented his second-highest scoring output of the year.
5) The loss to Upstate also marked the first time this year that the Eagles have been defeated when leading with five minutes remaining (20-1).
 
20-WIN TEAMS
FGCU (22), USC Upstate (23) and North Florida (23) all have 20+ wins this year, giving the A-Sun three 20-win teams for just the third time in the last 11 seasons. Additionally, with a win from FGCU Wednesday night, the A-Sun will have three teams with at least 23 victories in the same season for the first time in conference history (dates back to 1978-79). FGCU and Upstate are both hosting opening-round CIT games, while UNF is in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament against Robert Morris on Wednesday night as a 16 seed.
 
GROWING UP QUICKLY
Despite only becoming D-I postseason eligible in the 2011-12 season, FGCU has already claimed an impressive 10 wins in the postseason. In addition to FGCU's 8-3 mark in the A-Sun Tournament:
 
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.
 
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE
FGCU completed a challenging non-conference schedule this year 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. FGCU went 3-5 against top-90 RPI teams this year, with wins over Massachusetts (81), UCSB (87) and SDSU (90). 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 (SDSU, Florida Tech, UMass, FIU). FGCU's current RPI of 135 is still by far the best in the A-Sun, with UNF (162) being the next-closest team.
 
A-SUN HONOREES
Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) was named to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team earlier this month, while Jamail Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette) landed on the A-Sun All-Conference Second Team and Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) garnered A-Sun All-Freshman Team recognition.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) is the only active player (any division) with at least 1,800 career points (1,820), 600 career rebounds (617) and 250 career steals (262). Earlier this year the guard posted a D-I program-record 34-point performance in a victory over Ohio.
 
#DUNKCITY MAESTRO
With 229 assists on the year, Comer – who has 92 more assists than anyone else in the A-Sun – ranks sixth in the nation in total assists. Comer leads all active players in the NCAA (any division) with 838 career assists as the Dunk City orchestrator is already the program and A-Sun 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 46 percent (assists divided by the field goals made by the player's teammates while he is on the court).
 
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: 3,286
Leaders: 3,463 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 1,083
Next closest: 1,011 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 269
Next closest: 249 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 262
Next closest: 220 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 8,017
Next closest: 7,202 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
THOMPSON
Points: 1,820 – Second among all active A-Sun players (Ty Greene), 16th 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 seven points to surpass Jonathan Pixley (Samford 1992-97) and Kerry Blackshear (Stetson 1992-96) for 13th place on the A-Sun all-time scoring list (1,826).
 
Steals: 262 – Fourth among all active D-I players, Thompson is already FGCU's program career leader and broke the former league record held by Vaughn Williams in the regular-season finale at Jacksonville with three thefts to get to 260 for his career. Williams played at former league member Arkansas-Little Rock from 1980-83.
 
COMER
Assists: 838 – Comer is six assists ahead of his next-closest competitor (Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Smith, 832). Of the 136 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 124 times.
 
NEXT UP
If FGCU wins, its next opponent and location of the game will be announced later on Wednesday or Thursday.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
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.
 
IT'S AWESOME, BABY
Dick Vitale held a book signing in the Alico Arena Auxiliary Gym on Feb. 25, but it's not too late for fans to still purchase autographed copies of his latest book: "It's Awesome Baby! 75 Years of Memories and a Lifetime of Opinions on the Game I Love" by clicking here or by calling 239-590-7060. All proceeds from the book will be donated to The V Foundation for children battling pediatric cancer.
 
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.