DUNK CITY, Fla. – Riding a three-game winning streak, the FGCU men's basketball team (9-7) begins Atlantic Sun Conference action Saturday night at home against in-state foe Stetson (6-10, 0-1 A-Sun) at 7 p.m.
 
OPENING TIP
FGCU has won its last four A-Sun openers, including last season at home nearly exactly a year to the day over Stetson, 72-50. The Hatters already opened league play on Wednesday at home against defending champion North Florida. After UNF held just a one-point halftime lead, 38-37, the Ospreys blew by the Hatters late in the second half with a 15-2 run over the final six minutes on their way to a 97-79 win in the only A-Sun game played so far this year.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Tickets are still available and can be secured by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office. For those not able to make it to The Nest, the game – like all FGCU home contests – will be broadcast on ESPN3 and via the WatchESPN app with David Moulton and Pete Lonergan on the call. Additionally, live stats are available, and a multitude of social media platforms can also be accessed at the top of this release for fans to keep up with the action and behind-the-scenes coverage.
 
The contest is the second game of a doubleheader with Stetson as the FGCU women – 12-4 and winners of nine of 10 – face the rival Hatters at 4 p.m. Saturday will also be a blueout, with all fans in attendance encouraged to wear blue. Additionally, red FGCU T-shirts remain on sale for $10 in the lobby with all proceeds going to the American Heart Association. On Feb. 6, a redout will occur for the doubleheader against North Florida, with fans encouraged to wear those red T-shirts.
 
TWEETABLES
1) Ten of FGCU's 12 games against Division-I opponents in the non-conference were decided by 10 points or less, including seven straight for the first time since 2011-12.
2) The Eagles entered January at .500 (7-7); FGCU was 7-7 heading into January in 2014 and won the A-Sun regular-season title.
3) FGCU leads the A-Sun in points allowed by more than three per game at 70.3, while Stetson is last by nearly six per game at 84.4.
4) FGCU has scored 80 points or more seven times already this year after reaching that mark just five times all of last season.
5) Dating back to 2012-13, FGCU is 23-2 at home during the regular season against A-Sun opponents, with the losses coming to Lipscomb and North Florida.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU holds a 12-6 edge in the all-time series with Stetson, which started when the Eagles joined D-I and the A-Sun in 2007-08. The Eagles have won each of the past six meetings by an average of 15 points per game. The Hatters won the first three meetings – and four of the first five – but since then the Eagles have claimed 11 of 13 contests since 2010.
 
SCOUTING STETSON
^ After finishing 3-11 in the A-Sun last year, Stetson was predicted to finish last in the eight-team league in the preseason poll, tied with Kennesaw State.
^ Stetson is even younger than FGCU as the Hatters do not have a senior on the roster and only three juniors.
^ Freshman Derick Newton leads a quartet of double-figure scorers with 15.4 points per game. He's followed by sophomore Divine Myles (12.9), junior Brian Pegg (11.3) and sophomore Luke Doyle (10). Stetson is second in the A-Sun in scoring at 82.8 points per game.
^ Pegg leads the A-Sun in rebounding (9 per game) and field-goal percentage (57.5), while Myles ranks second in the league in steals with 1.8 per outing and Angel Rivera is third in the conference in assists at 4.7 per game.
^ Corey Williams is in his third season as head coach of the Hatters and has a 22-56 record in that time. Williams was previously an assistant at Florida State and Oral Roberts after completing a standout career at Oklahoma State. Williams spent parts of two seasons as a player in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls, winning a title with the Bulls in 1993.
 
REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE
FGCU leads the A-Sun in rebound margin at +4.1 – one of only two teams (USC Upstate, +1.2) with a positive differential. The Eagles have pulled down 675 total rebounds on the year, and that ranks as the 9th-best in the nation. Stetson, meanwhile has a rebound margin of -4.8 to rank 6th in the league. FGCU is 9-3 when out-rebounding its opponent this year, while Stetson is 1-9 this season when being out-rebounded.
 
A-SUN RANKS
In addition to leading the A-Sun in 3-point percentage defense, points allowed and rebound margin, FGCU also paces the league in field-goal percentage defense (.401), scoring margin (+6.9), rebounds per game (42.2) and steals per game (7.6).
 
AMONG THE BEST
FGCU has the 4th-best 3-point percentage defense in the nation, holding opponents to just .260 from beyond the arc. The Eagles finished 5th in that category last year (24.6 percent).
 
FGCU'S A-SUN RUN
2011-12: FGCU's first season of D-I postseason eligibility. The Eagles went 8-10 in the A-Sun (T-6th of 11 teams) and earned the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. FGCU defeated No. 3 USC Upstate, 71-61, upset host and No. 2 Mercer in the semifinals, 62-58, before falling short in the title game to top-seeded Belmont, 83-69, after holding a 42-39 halftime lead.
 
2012-13: In just its second season of D-I postseason eligibility, FGCU went 13-5 in the A-Sun, earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and for the second-straight year defeated Mercer on its home court – this time in the final – to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. The Eagles went on to become the only team in NCAA history to advance to the Sweet Sixteen as a 15 seed.
 
2013-14: FGCU won its first A-Sun regular-season championship with a record of 14-4 and earned the top seed in the A-Sun tournament. But this time, No. 2 Mercer defeated the Eagles on their home court in the title game, 68-60, and went on to knock off Duke in the NCAA Tournament as a 14 seed.
 
By reaching the A-Sun Championship final game in each of its first three seasons of eligibility, FGCU is the only school in NCAA history to have accomplished the feat. The Eagles lost in the semifinals at home last year to No. 3 USC Upstate, 63-62.
 
After going 11-3 in the A-Sun in 2014-15, FGCU boasts a 38-12 (.760) record in league games the last three seasons – eight more wins than anyone else in the league (North Florida, 30).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Head coach Joe Dooley is now in his third season in charge of the Eagles, and FGCU has the following records under the former Kansas top assistant:
 
Leading At The Half: 41-3
Grabbing More Rebounds: 44-5
Scoring At Least 80 Points: 17-2
Holding Opponent Below 40% FG: 33-4
Scoring At Least 70 Points: 33-5
 
PLAYER QUICK HITS
^ Redshirt senior Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) and redshirt junior Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) both did not play against Webber International on Tuesday to rest leg injuries. Both are expected to be in the lineup on Saturday.
^ Freshman Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) ranks 2nd in the nation among all first-year players and 34th overall in assist rate at 36 percent – the percentage in which a player assists on made field goals when he is in the game.
^ Redshirt freshman Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) reached double-figure points for the third-straight game with 13 versus Webber International and also added a career-best four steals.
^ Redshirt sophomore Kevin Mickle (Brooklyn, N.Y./Broward CC/CCSU/St. Benedict's Prep) scored a season-high 14 points on Tuesday against Webber.
^ After hitting just 11 3-pointers in the 11 games before FGCU's current three-game winning streak, redshirt senior Filip Cvjeticanin (Zagreb, Croatia/American School of Madrid) has knocked down seven triples in the last three contests. Cvjeticanin is 5th on the program's all-time 3-pointers made list with 166, and 3rd among all D-I players. The D-I record is held by 2014 graduate Bernard Thompson with 219.
^ Freshman Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) reached double-figure points for the fourth time this season with 11 opposite Webber, and also added a season-best four assists after entering the game with nine total helpers on the year.
^ Redshirt sophomore Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) just missed his second double-double in three games with 12 points and nine rebounds versus Webber.
 
BREAKOUT SEASONS
Redshirt junior Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) is one double-double shy of matching the D-I program single-season record of seven held by Chase Fieler in 2013-14. Norelia is 2nd in the A-Sun in rebounding at 8.7 per outing, 5th in field-goal percentage (.538) and 7th in scoring with 15.9 points per game. Norelia would already have the D-I program single-season record for double-doubles had he secured just one more rebound each against Ohio, La Salle and Webber International. The all-time single-season program record for double-doubles is nine, held by Robinson Tisme in the program's first season in 2002-03. Norelia was named A-Sun Co-Player of the Week on Monday, his second such weekly honor already this year.
 
After averaging just 3.3 points per game last year, sophomore Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) has catapulted to 13.9 per game this year – an increase of 10.6 – and has led the Eagles in scoring six times. Not only is Terrell getting the job done on the offensive end, he also enters Saturday's contest tied for the second-most rebounds on the team this year with 76.
 
YOUNG, TALENTED AND DEEP
FGCU has just two seniors on its roster, and so far this year 83 percent of its scoring, 87 percent of its rebounding (excluding team rebounds) and 87 percent of its assists have come from non-seniors.
 
Not only are the Eagles young and talented, but they are deep as already this year 10 different players have reached double-figure points in a game. The only team in the nation with more is Georgia Southern with 11. Below is a list of players who have already scored 10 or more points in a game, their season high and how many times they've led the team in scoring.
 
R-Jr. Norelia (7): 34
R-Fr. Johnson (1): 26
So. Terrell (6): 25
R-Sr. DeBose (1): 20
R-Sr. Cvjeticanin (1): 18
Fr. Reid: 18
R-So. Simmons: 17
Fr. Tucker: 15
R-So. Mickle: 14
R-Jr. Morant: 11
 
In a further testament to the youthful and talented group, Reid leads all A-Sun freshmen in assists per game (4.1), Terrell leads all A-Sun sophomores in points per game (13.9), Simmons leads all A-Sun sophomores in rebounds per game (5.1) and Norelia is second among all A-Sun juniors in rebounds per game (8.7).
 
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
In addition to being an extremely young team, FGCU has also faced a demanding non-conference schedule. The Eagles began this week with a non-league strength of schedule of 56, higher than a plethora of Power 5 programs, including (No. = rank in national polls): No. 5 Michigan State (63), No. 4 Virginia (64), No. 19 Iowa (77), No. 7 North Carolina (81), No. 1 Kansas (83), No. 11 Miami (91), No. 2 Oklahoma (116), No. 16 Louisville (134), No. 3 Maryland (139), No. 15 West Virginia (201) and No. 6 Arizona (224).
 
All but one of FGCU's seven losses have come against top-155 RPI teams, including three losses to top-35 teams (#18 Florida, 70-50; #19 Texas A&M, 75-65; #35 South Dakota State, 56-52) and four to top-100 opponents (#66 Louisiana Tech, 66-63) – and three of those four losses came by 10 points or less. FGCU has also dropped a 85-75 decision at #115 Ohio and an 89-81 overtime decision versus #154 South Dakota.
 
HOME SUCCESS
FGCU is 51-10 at Alico Arena since 2012-13. Seven of those 10 losses have come since the start of the 2014-15 season. FGCU is 8-3 at home this year, was 13-4 last year, went 15-2 in 2013-14 and 15-1 in 2012-13.
 
RECORD-SETTING NIGHT
FGCU set a D-I program first-half record by scoring 57 points and cruised to a 104-59 victory over NAIA member Webber International Tuesday night at Alico Arena in the Eagles' final non-league contest. In addition to the record first-half performance, FGCU also set a D-I program record by issuing 26 assists.
 
The 104 points were the most in a D-I regulation contest in program history, besting the previous record of 101 against Longwood in January of 2012. It also represented the second time this year the Eagles have scored at least 100 points in a game – 104 vs. Youngstown State in triple overtime on Nov. 21 – and that is the first time in D-I program history that multiple 100-point outings have occurred in the same season. D-I program history dates back to 2007-08, while the program's first season was 2002-03.
 
The 57 first-half points were the most in any half by the Eagles since they tallied 54 in the second stanza of their NCAA Tournament victory over Georgetown in 2013. The previous first-half D-I program record for points was just 49 – set in February of 2014 against Jacksonville, which was the only other time until Tuesday that the Green and Blue had scored 100 points in a regulation contest under Dooley.
 
The Eagles finished the contest by shooting a blistering 61.2 percent (41-67) from the floor, the best since going 65.6 percent (40-61) in the aforementioned Jacksonville contest and the 5th-best single-game field-goal percentage in program history. FGCU also connected at a 58.8-percent clip (10-17) from 3-point range, the best since a 66.7-percent clip (14-21) at USC Upstate in February of 2011 and the 4th-best single-game performance in program history.
 
GOLDEN SUMMER
DeBose won a gold medal as part of Team USA at the World University Games (WUG) this summer in South Korea ... was one of only two players (SMU's Nic Moore) on the team not from Kansas University ... finished the tournament averaging 4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 10.8 minutes per contest ... scored a team-high 18 points in the USA's final group-round game against Switzerland ... connected on 50 percent (13-26) of his shots from the floor during the WUG, including 3-8 from 3-point range ... added nine offensive and nine defensive rebounds, with the nine offensive boards representing the second-most by any guard on the roster  ... also contributed six steals and a block as Team USA won its games by an average of 20.3 points.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will remain at home as the Eagles play their fifth-straight home game and nine of 10 inside The Nest against league newcomer NJIT (9-7) on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. The Highlanders were picked to finish 3rd in the preseason poll behind North Florida and FGCU, and last year claimed a notable win at then-No. 17 Michigan. NJIT returns four starters from that team.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are currently on sale for all remaining home contests. For the latest ticket information, log on to FGCUAthletics.com or call the Alico Arena Ticket Office at 239-590-7145.

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, Like us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB and watch us on Snapchat at FGCU_MBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by head coach Joe Dooley, who is in his third year with the Eagles in 2015-16 and coached six all-conference selections during his first two seasons. He guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT in 2014, and in 2015 he led the Eagles to their third-straight 20-win season and third-straight postseason appearance with a berth in the CIT. 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. Dooley is in his seventh season overall as a head coach and has a record of 110-83 (.570), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 53-31 (.631).
 
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 visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.