JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Coming off an NCAA Tournament victory and ASUN Conference Championship a season ago, the FGCU men's basketball team begins its highly-anticipated 2016-17 season against in-state foe Florida – which is receiving votes in the national polls – on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena.
 
OPENING TIP ITEMS
^ The game is being played in Jacksonville due to ongoing renovations at UF's Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The contest will be the second of a doubleheader as UF's women's team will face South Alabama at 5 p.m.
^ FGCU is installed as the preseason ASUN favorites, predicted to return to the NCAA Tournament where it posted a record 31-point win, 96-65, in the First Four this past March over fellow 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.
^ The Eagles begin the year ranked #20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, the preeminent mid-major poll.
^ FGCU will be looking for its fifth postseason appearance in only six years of Division-I eligibility: 2013 NCAA, 2014 NIT, 2015 CIT, 2016 NCAA. FGCU is believed to be the only D-I team in NCAA history to make four postseason appearances in its first five years of eligibility.
 
TWEETABLES
1) Leading returning scorer and rebounder Marc-Eddy Norelia (17.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG) is questionable with a broken left (shooting) hand suffered in practice in early October.
2) Florida is the first opponent in a four-game season-opening stretch for FGCU which won at least 20 games last year and played in the postseason.
3) FGCU is the only D-I team in the state of Florida which has posted three-straight 20-win seasons (four-consecutive for the Eagles).
4) The Eagles had 61.1 percent of their total points last year come from 2-point baskets, ranking as the 4th-highest percentage in the country.
5) FGCU set D-I single-season program records last year in points per game (77.2), rebounds per game (40.6) and field-goal percentage (47.9).
 
LOADED RETURNING GROUP
FGCU returns 83 percent of its points, 87 percent of its rebounds and 86 percent of its assists this season after losing just two players to graduation last year.
 
ASUN PRESEASON FAVORITES | Complete Poll And Teams
The Eagles received six of eight 1st-place votes in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll and garnered 62 points to finish 12 ahead of 2nd-place North Florida, which collected the other two 1st-place votes. NJIT was picked 3rd, just three points behind the Ospreys, while Lipscomb was slotted 4th. Stetson, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State and USC Upstate rounded out the poll in spots 5-8, respectively.
 
In addition to the team honor, redshirt senior Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team, redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) was also a preseason team pick and redshirt senior Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) was tabbed as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
 
MID-MAJOR POLL | Complete Poll
In addition to FGCU ranking #20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, the ASUN has another representative as North Florida is receiving votes. Following the UF game, FGCU will have its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. against UT Arlington, which is ranked #6 in the mid-major top 25 and predicted to win the Sun Belt Conference.
 
The Eagles also have home games against a pair of other teams ranked in the poll (#10 Long Beach State, Nov. 25; #22 Siena, Dec. 9), in addition to a home-and-home series this year with Georgia Southern (Dec. 13 at home) which is receiving votes in the poll.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Of FGCU's 13 D-I non-conference opponents, seven finished last year ranked in the top 130 of the RPI, and three were in the top 50. All seven of those teams won at least 20 games and made postseason appearances in 2015-16.
 
The Eagles open the season with a daunting stretch of Florida, UT Arlington, Baylor and Michigan State. Below is a closer look at those four opponents based off last season.
 
vs. RV Florida: 21-15; 45 RPI; NIT
UT Arlington: 24-11; 107 RPI; CIT
@ Baylor: 22-12; 27 RPI; NCAA
@ #9 Michigan State: 29-6; 12 RPI; NCAA
Total: 96-44; 48 Avg. RPI; 4 Postseason App.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY: Florida Leads, 3-0
12/10/08: 90-64 @ UF | Box Score
3/29/13: 62-50 – Sweet Sixteen | Box Score
11/27/15: 70-50 @ UF | Box Score

Last year, FGCU held at 33-32 halftime lead before 12 2nd-half turnovers by the Eagles were converted into 18 points by the Gators – one more point than FGCU scored total in the final 20 minutes.

SCOUTING FLORIDA
^ Florida enters its second season under head coach Mike White, returning seven of the team's top eight scorers from 2015-16. The Gators have won 24 consecutive season openers.
^ SEC All-Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen is UF's top returning scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game last year. John Egbunu was just behind Allen with 11.5 points per outing, a team-best 48 blocks and returns as the Gators' leading rebounder at 6.5 per contest.
^ Despite trailing at halftime, 34-33, in its lone exhibition game against Eckerd, Florida claimed a 91-63 victory over the Tritons on Oct. 26 at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
^ The Gators ranked 14th in the nation last year in defensive efficiency at 92.8 percent.
^ UF participated in the NIT last season and won at North Florida (97-68) and at Ohio State (74-66) before falling short at eventual champion George Washington (82-77).
 
MOST WINS IN FLORIDA
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Florida has 73 wins, while FGCU has 65 to rank 1st and 3rd, respectively, in victories among D-I schools in the Sunshine State the last three years.
 
1) Florida: 73
2) Miami: 69
3) FGCU: 65
4) North Florida: 63
5) Florida State: 58
6) FIU: 44
7) Jacksonville: 39
8) UCF: 38
9) Bethune-Cookman: 33
10) Stetson: 30
11) USF: 30
12) FAU: 27
13) Florida A&M: 23
 
As FGCU has moved among some of the preeminent teams in the state, it has done so with Florida talent. Of returning team members from last year's squad, Florida natives were responsible for 68 percent of FGCU's points and 70 percent of the Green and Blue's rebounds.
 
RECAPPING 2015-16: 21-15 Overall; 8-6 ASUN, T-2nd
^ FGCU finished tied for 2nd in the ASUN with Jacksonville and NJIT at 8-6, but earned the 4th seed in the conference tournament.
^ The Eagles defeated 5th-seeded Kennesaw State at home in the quarterfinals, 74-64, went on the road and destroyed top-seeded North Florida, 89-56, and won the title at home against 7th-seeded Stetson in overtime, 80-78.
^ The ASUN Championship was the second for FGCU in four years. The Eagles have played in the title game in four of the five seasons they've been D-I postseason eligible.
^ FGCU received a 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and played the opening game of March Madness in the First Four against Fairleigh Dickinson, posting the aforementioned record 31-point win, 96-65.
^ The Eagles went on to face top seed and eventual national-runner up North Carolina and trailed by just one point at halftime before falling, 83-67, in Raleigh. The one-point halftime margin was the smallest lead the Tar Heels had at intermission all NCAA Tournament.
 
POSTSEASON NUMBERS
With the win over FDU, FGCU secured its third NCAA Tournament victory in four years. The Eagles are the only current ASUN member which has won an NCAA Tournament game, and are responsible for three of the league's seven all-time NCAA Tournament victories, dating back to the ASUN's initial appearance in March Madness in 1981.
 
Additionally, FGCU is one of only two teams all-time with three wins in just five NCAA Tournament contests, with the other being Cleveland State. The only schools with more than three NCAA victories all-time have played at least nine games to get those four wins.
 
IN THE TOP 10 PERCENT
FGCU is one of just 31 teams in the nation to have won at least 20 games and played in the postseason each of the last four years, ranking the Eagles among the top-10 percent of clubs in the nation.
 
Furthermore, FGCU is one of just eight schools in the country to have its men's and women's teams win at least 20 games in four-straight seasons: Duke, Louisville, Kentucky, BYU, Baylor, UConn and Saint Mary's.
 
BAHAMIAN SUMMER
FGCU spent Aug. 5-10 at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, playing three exhibition games and bonding as a team off the court. The Eagles won their three games by scores of 92-89, 113-58 and 87-69. In their first game, because of foul trouble and an injury-shortened bench, the Green and Blue finished the contest with just three players (watch).
 
PAINT EMPHASIS
Since head coach Joe Dooley has taken over the FGCU program, the Eagles have had a big emphasis on scoring in the paint. In addition to the aforementioned 61.1 percent of its total points last year coming off 2-point baskets, the Eagles scored 50 paint points or more on four occasions last year. In FGCU's entire pre-D-I era (2002-07), that happened just two times. FGCU out-scored its opponent in the paint 26 times last year, including 19 of its final 22 games.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
FGCU has the following records under the direction of Dooley:

Leading At The Half: 50-4 (.926)
Holding Opponent Below 40% FG: 38-4 (.905)
Grabbing More Rebounds: 54-10 (.844)
Scoring At Least 70 Points: 44-9 (.830)
Scoring At Least 80 Points: 25-3 (.893)
 
MORE NUMBERS
The Eagles scored 80 or more points last year 16 times. In Dooley's first two years at the helm, FGCU reached that mark just 12 times total. They overcame two 2nd-half double-digit deficits in the same season for the first time in program history. Additionally, the 58 points scored off the bench on Nov. 23 against Bowling Green were the most in the program's D-I history.
 
THE GROWTH OF FGCU
After starting their D-I transition with five-straight losing seasons, the Eagles have now posted four-consecutive 20-win seasons. After not finishing higher than 6th place in the ASUN the first five years, FGCU has finished no worse than a tie for 2nd each of the past four seasons.
 
2007-08: 10-21, 6-10 ASUN (T-8th)
2008-09: 11-20, 7-13 ASUN (9th)
2009-10: 8-21, 5-15 ASUN (T-10th)
2010-11: 10-20, 7-13 ASUN (7th)
2011-12: 15-17, 8-10 ASUN (T-6th)
2012-13: 26-11, 13-5 ASUN (2nd)
2013-14: 22-13, 14-4 ASUN (T-1st)
2014-15: 22-11, 11-3 ASUN (2nd)
2015-16: 21-13, 8-6 ASUN (T-2nd)
D-I Total: 145-148, 79-79 ASUN
Last 4 Years: 91-49, 46-18 ASUN
 
NATIONAL RANKS
FGCU finished in the top 25 in the nation in a trio of key categories last year: 3-point percentage defense (12th, 30.4), rebounds per game (14th, 40.6) and field-goal percentage (23rd, 47.9).
 
RECORD-SETTING SEASONS
Norelia broke the program's single-season double-double record last year with 16. He established program single-season records in points (597), rebounds (325) and field goals made (234). Norelia led FGCU in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (9.3), ranking 6th in the ASUN in points per game, 2nd in rebounds per game and 4th in field-goal percentage (54.5).
 
Johnson established the program's single-season record for points by a freshman with 387. He came on strong after the turn of the calendar to 2016 as the scoring point guard totaled 65 percent (252 of 387) of his points after conference play began.
 
PLAYER QUICK HITS
0 Brandon Goodwin: Averaged 10.2 points and a team-high 4.2 assists per game at UCF as a sophomore in 2014-15 … started all 30 games, with his scoring average ranking 22nd in the American Athletic Conference and his assist average ranking 4th in the league.
1 Reggie Reid: ASUN Newcomer of the Week (Nov. 23) … played in 34 games, making 14 starts … 106 assists were the 2nd-most among all ASUN freshmen (Johnson, 115) … 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio was the 3rd-highest in the league and best by a freshman.
3 Rayjon Tucker: ASUN Newcomer of the Week (Dec. 14) … appeared in all 35 games, making one start (Stetson, Jan. 9) … reached double-figure points eight times.
10 Kevin Mickle: Averaged 2.1 points and 2 rebounds per game … appeared in 31 games and logged a total of 323 minutes … emerged as a valuable defensive presence … grabbed five or more rebounds on four occasions.
11 Christian Terrell: FGCU's 2nd-leading scorer and 3rd-leading rebounder in terms of total boards (177) … led the team in steals (1.2) ... increased his scoring by 9.4 points per game from 3.3 as a freshman … grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds against Youngstown State (Nov. 21), one shy of matching the D-I program single-game record.
13 RaySean Scott Jr.: Ranked as the nation's 22nd-best small forward in his high school class by ESPN, which also tabbed him as a 3-star recruit ... as a senior he averaged team highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds per game … Second Team All-State selection and First Team All-Conference pick.
21 Demetris Morant: Injury-plagued season which saw him miss 12 games early in the year and again at the beginning of the conference slate … played in 23 games, making 18 starts … rebound average was the 2nd-best on the team.
23 Christian Carlyle: Finished his high school career with 2,112 points … as a senior he was named Florida Class 5A Player of the Year and Florida Times Union Player of the Year … averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in leading his team to the state championship final and a 27-5 record.
32 Antravious Simmons: His 178 total rebounds were the 2nd-most on the team … posted a pair of double-doubles … nearly averaged a double-double with 12 points and 9.7 rebounds in three ASUN Championship games … posted career highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the ASUN Final in only 23 minutes against Stetson (Mar. 6).
 
LOCKING IN ON D
Since Dooley took over FGCU in 2013-14, FGCU has held 29 teams to 60 points or fewer. The Sweet Sixteen team in 2012-13 held 13 opponents to 60 points or fewer, but prior to that – in five seasons of D-I history – FGCU teams had only held opponents to 60 points or fewer 20 times.
 
The Eagles have led the ASUN in scoring defense in two of Dooley's three years with FGCU and finished 2nd in the other season.
 
PROTECTING THE ROCK
FGCU set the single-season program record with nine games of single-digit turnovers last year, surpassing the previous record of eight from 2014-15. Eight single-digit turnover games is exactly how many the Eagles had in their entire pre-D-I history. In 2013-14, FGCU had six single-digit turnover games. Under Dooley, the Eagles have posted 23 of the program's 29 single-digit turnover games in the D-I era.
 
#DEPTHCITY
FGCU had 10 different players reach double-figure points in a game last year. The only teams in the nation with more were Boston University (12) and Georgia Southern (11) – which FGCU will play on Dec. 4 and 13. Below is a list of returning players who scored 10 or more points in a game, their season high and how many times they led (or tied) the team in scoring.
 
Norelia (18 – includes a tie): 34
Johnson (5 – includes two ties): 26
Christian Terrell (9 – includes a tie): 25
Antravious Simmons (1): 21
Rayjon Tucker (1): 19
Reggie Reid: 18
Kevin Mickle: 14
Demetris Morant: 12

In a further testament to the youthful and talented group, Johnson led ASUN freshmen in assists per game (3.3) and finished 3rd among league freshmen in scoring (11.1), Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) was 2nd among ASUN sophomores in points per game (12.7), Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) paced ASUN sophomores in rebounds per game (5.2) and Norelia was 2nd among conference juniors in rebounds per contest (9.3).

RE-TWEETS
1) FGCU played five overtime games last year, setting a single-season program record. In its entire pre-D-I history, FGCU played three total OT contests.
2) Ten times last season FGCU had a game decided by five points or less. The Eagles were 6-4 in such games.
 
ASUN SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, FGCU boasts a 46-18 (.719) record in ASUN regular-season games – six more wins than any other team in the league (North Florida, 40).
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will have its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. against fellow mid-major power UT Arlington. The Mavericks, who went 24-11 last year and are ranked #6 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, open the season with a game every other day for the first eight days of the season. That stretch begins on Saturday at home versus Texas Southern before continuing Monday at Minnesota and concluding Nov. 18 at Arkansas.
 
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 entering his 4th season with the Eagles in 2016-17 and has coached eight all-conference selections. Dooley guided FGCU to a 4th-straight 20-win season and 4th-consecutive postseason appearance in 2015-16 as the Eagles claimed the ASUN Tournament Championship and won their First Four NCAA Tournament game. He led FGCU to its first ASUN Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT in 2014, and in 2015 he led the Eagles to 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 has completed seven seasons overall as a head coach and has a record of 122-90 (.575), and in his three years with FGCU is 65-38 (.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.