DUNK CITY, Fla. – The No. 2-seeded FGCU men's basketball team (22-9, 11-3 A-Sun) continues its 2015 Atlantic Sun Championship at home with a semifinal matchup against No. 3-seeded USC Upstate (22-10, 8-6 A-Sun) Thursday at 7 p.m. inside Alico Arena.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
The two winningest teams in the A-Sun will be squaring off for a chance to play for the A-Sun title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Both teams reached the semifinals with commanding wins on Tuesday as FGCU defeated No. 7 Jacksonville, 81-63, while Upstate was never tested in a 90-54 victory over No. 6 Kennesaw State.
 
In the other semifinal matchup Thursday night, No. 1 North Florida (21-11, 12-2 A-Sun) hosts No. 5 Lipscomb (14-16, 7-7 A-Sun) at 7 p.m. The Ospreys – whose only two league losses have come against Upstate – won their sixth in a row by knocking down 14 3-pointers en route to an 81-67 triumph over No. 8 Stetson on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Bisons were the only road team to win in the quarterfinals as Lipscomb defeated No. 4 Northern Kentucky in overtime, 76-73.
 
For an updated tournament bracket, click here.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
General-admission tickets are still available for $15 and can be purchased online at FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. If any tickets remain on Thursday, the Alico Arena Ticket Office will be open at 9 a.m., and fans can also call 239-590-7145 to secure their seats. Like all FGCU home games, the contest – presented by Courtyard by Marriott – will be broadcast on ESPN3 and via the Watch ESPN app. David Moulton will handle the play-by-play duties with J. Webb Horton serving as the analyst. All fans are encouraged to wear blue to create a BLUEOUT atmosphere.
 
TWEETABLES RELEASE (5 Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) FGCU has won seven-straight games against Upstate, with the first victory of the run coming in the 2012 A-Sun Tournament.
2) Tuesday marked the first time in FGCU history that three players recorded double-doubles in the same game (Julian DeBose, Brett Comer, Demetris Morant).
3) Comer (831 career assists) is just two helpers shy of moving into the top 25 in NCAA Division-I history.
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) FGCU finished with a +20 edge in paint points Tuesday (42-22), and it is now 29-0 dating back to 2011-12 when finishing at least +15.
 
A-SUN TOURNAMENT SNAPSHOT
FGCU has only been eligible for the A-Sun Tournament for four years, and in the previous three years the Eagles have reached the championship game every time – the only program in the history of D-I men's basketball to accomplish that feat.
 
The Eagles were the No. 6 seed in the 2012 tournament and went 2-0 before losing to Belmont in the title game. In the 2013 tournament, FGCU was seeded No. 2 and went 3-0, beating Mercer in the final game. Last year, the Green and Blue was the No. 1 seed and went 2-1 before suffering a setback to Mercer in the final.
 
FGCU's 8-2 record in A-Sun Tournament games is good for an .800 winning percentage, by far the best among all current A-Sun teams. In fact, FGCU is the only active league member with a better than .500 record in A-Sun Tournament games, with USC Upstate's .500 winning percentage (3-3) ranking second.
 
Furthermore, despite appearing in the A-Sun Tournament only three times, FGCU owns the second-most wins of any active conference member, and with a victory over the Spartans will be tied for the most in the league:
 
Team: Record (Appearances)
Stetson: 9-22 (22)
FGCU: 8-2 (4)
Jacksonville: 5-16 (16)
Lipscomb: 5-10 (11)
USC Upstate: 3-3 (4)
North Florida: 3-5 (6)
Kennesaw State: 1-3 (3)
Northern Kentucky: 0-1 (1)
 
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.
 
FGCU and USC Upstate have met just one time in the A-Sun Tournament, and that was the Eagles' first-ever D-I postseason game in 2012 which started the aforementioned seven-game winning streak over the Spartans. FGCU won that matchup by a 71-61 margin in Macon, Ga., on Mercer's campus.
 
All-time in A-Sun Tournament action, the No. 2 seed actually has a losing record against the No. 3 seed, 11-7. With Tuesday's win, FGCU is now 4-0 all-time as a No. 2 seed as the Eagles won all three games as a 2 seed in 2013 en route to its first A-Sun title and eventual Sweet Sixteen appearance.
 
Finally, while FGCU did not earn the No. 1 seed and potential home games throughout the tournament, the Eagles still have history on their side. A home team (or a team hosting an A-Sun Tournament) has not won a league championship since 2001 when Georgia State accomplished the feat.
 
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
^ Senior Ty Greene was named the A-Sun Player of the Year on Monday. The guard averages a league-best 20.2 points per game – more than four points better than anyone else in the A-Sun – and also paces all conference players with 90 made 3-pointers on the year.
^ Upstate ranks 4th in the nation in total rebounds (1,218), 5th in 3-point attempts (768), 7th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.47) and 8th in total steals (262).
^ Fred Miller is the only other Upstate player who averages double-figure points (12.3 per game), and the senior also leads the Spartans with 4.3 assists per game.
^ Michael Buchanan ranks second in the A-Sun in field-goal percentage as he connects at a 55.3-percent clip from the floor (115-208).
 
SERIES HISTORY (FGCU Leads, 12-4)
FGCU had just a 5-4 edge in the series prior to the seven-game winning streak. Most of those games have been tightly-contested as four of the last six meetings have been decided by four points or less. That was the case on the road for the Eagles in the first meeting this year as they earned a 71-68 triumph, but at Alico Arena a few weeks ago they blew the Spartans out, 86-72. Upstate is one of four A-Sun members that FGCU has won at least six-straight games against:
 
Kennesaw State: 8
USC Upstate: 7
Stetson: 6
Northern Kentucky: 6
 
INSIDE THE STREAK
During its seven-game winning streak against Upstate, FGCU has consistently performed better than its average. In six of the seven victories, the Eagles have posted at least 70 points, and in five of the seven wins the Eagles have shot better from 3-point range than the Spartans.
 
COACHING TIES
Upstate is led by head coach Eddie Payne, who is in his 13th season with the Spartans and has a long history with FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. Dooley and Payne were both assistants at South Carolina from 1988-91 before Dooley served as Payne's assistant once he accepted the head coaching job at East Carolina from 1991-95. Dooley then took over for Payne as ECU's head coach from 1999-95 following Payne's departure to take the head coaching job at Oregon State.
 
HIGH-WATER MARK
In its win over Jacksonville on Tuesday, FGCU set a program A-Sun Tournament record by shooting 55.6 percent (30-54) from the floor, with the 30 made field goals tying a program tourney record (30-59, 50.8 percent at Mercer in the 2013 title game). Additionally, the 55.6 percent from the field is the best this year for the Eagles, surpassing their 55.2-percent clip against Upstate on Feb. 21.
 
Furthermore, FGCU also set a program A-Sun Tournament record by passing out 21 assists (previous record 16 vs. Stetson in the quarterfinals last year). Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) established an FGCU individual A-Sun Tournament record by issuing 11 assists, surpassing his own mark of nine which also came in that Stetson game.
 
RE-TWEETS (5 More Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) With an appearance in Tuesday's game, Comer surpassed 2014 graduate Chase Fieler on the FGCU career games played list (135).
2) Since Feb. 1, Bernard Thompson is just 7-44 from 3-point range, excluding a 5-5 performance against Upstate on Feb. 21.
3) DeBose grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds as part of his first career double-double on Tuesday.
4) Since 2012-13, FGCU is 39-1 when leading at halftime, with the lone loss coming to FIU this year (32-28 halftime score).
5) FGCU has posted 12 single-digit turnover games in the last two years. Prior to that (since 2002), there were only 10 such games in program history.
 
20-WIN TEAMS
Coupled with FGCU and USC Upstate, North Florida gives the A-Sun three 20-win teams this year for just the third time in the last 11 seasons.
 
A-SUN HONOREES
Comer was named to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team on Monday, 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.
 
ODDS & ENDS
FGCU has tied a single-season program record (2012-13 Sweet Sixteen team) by holding 13 opponents to 60 points or less … Comer and Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) have played nearly the exact same amount of minutes over their careers, with Comer having logged 3,985 and Thompson having logged 3,961 … FGCU's 10-game winning streak earlier this year was the longest in D-I program history and third-longest all-time behind only a pair of 14-game runs.
 
BEST REGULAR SEASON
Despite finishing with two losses, FGCU's 11-3 mark in A-Sun action gave the Eagles a record .786 winning percentage in conference games. The percentage surpassed last year's .778 (14-4 record) as the best in program history.
 
HEAD OF THE STATE
FGCU's 22 victories are the most among D-I teams in the state of Florida, one win ahead of fellow A-Sun member UNF (21).
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Thompson is the only active player (any division) with at least 1,700 career points (1,795), 600 career rebounds (614) and 250 career steals (261). Earlier this year the guard posted a D-I program-record 34-point performance in a victory over Ohio.
 
#DUNKCITY MAESTRO
With 222 assists on the year, Comer – who has 93 more assists than anyone else in the A-Sun – ranks fourth in the nation in total assists. Comer leads all active players in the NCAA (any division) with 831 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). With those 222 assists on the year, Comer has 24 more assists than Grambling State University's entire team, and only 22 fewer assists than Mississippi State's entire team.
 
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 65 of the current RPI (five in the top 100). 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 125 is still y far the best in the A-Sun, with UNF (170) being the next-closest team.

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: 3,246
Leaders: 3,439 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 1,076
Next closest: 992 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 267
Next closest: 244 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 260
Next closest: 215 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 7,946
Next closest: 7,017 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
THOMPSON
Points: 1,795 – 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 22 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: 261 – 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 on Saturday 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: 831 – Comer is 17 assists ahead of his next-closest competitor (Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Smith, 814). Of the 135 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 123 times. Three helpers will place Comer in sole possession of 25th place on the all-time NCAA D-I list, with 10 assists moving him all the way to solo 23rd.
 
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
 
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 8-2 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.
 
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
If FGCU wins and UNF defeats Lipscomb, the Eagles will travel to Jacksonville and face the Ospreys on their home floor for the A-Sun Championship on Sunday, Mar. 8, at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2. If UNF loses to Lipscomb and FGCU wins, the Eagles will host the Bisons for the title at Alico Arena.
 
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.