SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Coming off an important win over 1st-place North Florida to snap a four-game losing streak, the FGCU men's basketball team (14-11, 5-4 A-Sun) faces its final Atlantic Sun Conference weekend road trip of the season, beginning at USC Upstate (8-18, 2-7 A-Sun) Thursday night at 7.
 
OPENING TIP
With five games remaining in the regular season, FGCU enters the weekend swing tied for 3rd place in the A-Sun with NJIT at 5-4. The Eagles currently have the tiebreaker on the Highlanders by virtue of an 82-78 overtime win over them on Jan. 14, and the Green and Blue will conclude the weekend in New Jersey on Saturday at 4 p.m. FGCU is two games back of North Florida and Jacksonville as the two teams are tied at 7-2 in the league.
 
A-SUN STANDINGS
North Florida: 7-2
Jacksonville: 7-2
FGCU: 5-4
NJIT: 5-4*
Lipscomb: 4-5*
Stetson: 3-6*
Kennesaw State: 3-6*
USC Upstate: 2-7*
* Denotes opponent FGCU will still play.
 
TWEETABLES
1) The win over UNF Saturday night snapped a four-game A-Sun losing streak for FGCU – the longest streak since 2010-11.
2) FGCU held UNF to a season-low 35 percent from the floor, 20 points below its season average and handed the Ospreys their third-largest defeat of the year.
3) Marc-Eddy Norelia's 16 point-per-game average is just behind Casey Wohlleb's program Division-I single-season record of 16.5 in 2007-08.
4) Zach Johnson was named A-Sun Co-Newcomer of the Week on Monday and leads all A-Sun players in 3-point percentage in league games at .609 (14-23).
5) FGCU raced to a 43-17 halftime lead earlier this year against USC Upstate and cruised to an 85-56 win on Jan. 16.
 
LOW-POST PRODUCTION
Over the last three games, FGCU is averaging an impressive 51.3 points in the paint and out-scoring its foes – league leaders North Florida and Jacksonville – over that span in the paint by an incredible 80 total points. FGCU secured 56 points in the paint at UNF on Jan. 30, 50 at JU on Feb. 1 and 48 versus UNF this past Saturday. It marked just the third and fourth times, respectively, the Eagles have tallied at least 50 points in the paint in the D-I era (since 2007-08).
 
In A-Sun contests, FGCU is out-scoring its opponents by an average of 14.5 points per game in the paint. In their meeting last month, the Eagles finished with just a 30-26 edge in paint points over the Spartans; however, FGCU knocked down a season-high 13 3-pointers.
 
The Eagles receive 60.9 percent of their total points from 2-point field goals, tied for the 4th-highest percentage in the nation. Old Dominion leads the country at 62.9 percent.
 
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. UPSTATE
Trailing 8-4 not even four minutes in, FGCU head coach Joe Dooley elected to use a timeout at the 16:09 mark. Out of that timeout, the Eagles responded with a 15-0 run and an extended 39-9 run the rest of the half to create the aforementioned 43-17 halftime lead and were never threatened the rest of the night as the Green and Blue won their sixth in a row.
 
FGCU connected at a 61.9-percent clip from 3-point range, the second-highest single-game percentage in program history against a D-I opponent. The highest also came against Upstate (66.7 percent, 14-21) on Feb. 28, 2011. The Eagles passed out 22 assists – the most versus a D-I opponent this year – and committed a season-low four turnovers – a total which was matched on Saturday night against UNF.
 
SERIES HISTORY: FGCU Leads, 13-5
A loss in the A-Sun Championship semifinals last year snapped a seven-game winning streak in the series by the Eagles. FGCU had just a 5-4 edge in the series prior to the seven-game winning streak, but has still won eight of the last nine. Five of the last eight meetings between the Eagles and Spartans have been decided by four points or less.
 
COACHING TIES
Upstate is led by head coach Eddie Payne, who is in his 14th season with the Spartans and has a long history with 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 1995-99 following Payne's departure to take the head coaching job at Oregon State.
 
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
^ Upstate was picked to finish 6th in the A-Sun preseason poll after losing four starters from a team that went 24-12 last year and was one of three current league members to participate in the CIT (FGCU, NJIT).
^ The Spartans opened the league schedule by beating NJIT on the road, 80-78, on a tip-in at the buzzer after holding a double-figure second-half lead. However, Upstate has claimed just one conference win since – at Lipscomb, 92-91, in overtime.
^ FGCU and USC Upstate rank 1st and 2nd, respectively, in rebound margin in the A-Sun at +4.4 and +2.1. The Eagles lead the league with a rebound average of 40.9, while Upstate is 3rd at 38 per contest.
^ Deion Holmes and Michael Buchanan are Upstate's only double-figure scorers at 12.5 per game and 10.7 per outing, respectively. Buchanan also adds a team-best 5.2 rebounds per game.
^ With a record of 208-221 at Upstate, Payne is second on the program's all-time wins list. Now is his 31st season overall, he has a career record of 468-454.
 
A-SUN RANKS
In addition to leading the A-Sun in rebounding, FGCU also paces the league in points allowed (71.4), field goal percentage defense (.416) and 3-point percentage defense (.306).
 
PROTECTING THE ROCK
With just four turnovers against UNF Saturday night, FGCU recorded its seventh single-digit turnover contest of the year and moved within one of tying the all-time single-season record of eight set last year. Eight single-digit turnover games is exactly how many the Eagles had in their entire pre-D-I history, spanning five seasons from 2002-07. In 2013-14, FGCU had six single-digit turnover games, as through Dooley's 2+ seasons in charge of the Eagles they have posted 21 of the program's 27 single-digit turnovers games in the D-I era (since 2007-08).
 
NOT UNCOMMON WATERS
While FGCU has already lost four A-Sun games – more than all of last year (3) – the Eagles have been successful in recent years when losing four or five conference contests. FGCU went 14-4 in 2013-14 and won the A-Sun regular-season title before playing in its first NIT, and in 2012-13 it finished 13-5 but went on to win the tournament and become the only 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
 
PLAYER QUICK HITS
^ Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) ranks 2nd among all freshmen nationally in assist rate at 33.4 percent – the percentage of field goals made by a team that a player assists on while in the game. He sprained his ankle last week and as a result played just two minutes against UNF.
^ Redshirt junior Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) has 67 career blocks, just 13 shy of moving into 2nd place on the program's all-time list. Chase Fieler (2010-14) owns the all-time record with 134 rejections. Morant returned to the FGCU lineup on Saturday after missing the previous seven games with a muscle bruise in his right leg and recorded a season-high 12 points.
^ Redshirt senior Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) became the 7th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points on Saturday. He entered the game against the Ospreys needing just five points to reach the mark and now has 1,011 for his career.
^ Redshirt senior Filip Cvjeticanin (Zagreb, Croatia/American School of Madrid) is tied for 3rd on the program's all-time 3-pointers made list with 178, and is tied for 2nd among all D-I players. The D-I record is held by 2014 graduate Bernard Thompson with 219. Ryan Hopkins (2002-05) holds the all-time record with 355.
 
BREAKOUT SEASONS
Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) is 2nd in the A-Sun in rebounding at 8.8 per outing, 4th in field-goal percentage (.537) and 8th in scoring with 16 points per game. With 13 points and 11 rebounds against UNF on Saturday, the redshirt junior tied the all-time single-season program record for double-doubles with nine, now shared with Robinson Tisme from the program's first season in 2002-03. Norelia has been named A-Sun Player of the Week and A-Sun Co-Player of the Week this year.
 
After averaging just 3.3 points per game last year, sophomore Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) has catapulted to 13.1 per game this year – an increase of 9.8 – and has led the Eagles in scoring seven times. Not only is the 6-5 Terrell getting the job done on the offensive end, he also enters Thursday's contest with the 2nd-most rebounds on the team this year with 123.
 
RE-TWEETS
1) FGCU has already played four overtime games, setting a single-season program record. In its entire pre-D-I history (2002-06), FGCU played three total OT contests.
2) Eight times this year FGCU has had a game decided by five points or less. The Eagles are 4-4 in such games, and 6-9 in games decided by 10 points or less.
3) Johnson has reached double-figure points 11 of the last 12 games, and is 2nd on FGCU in scoring in A-Sun games at 15.4 per contest.
 
A-SUN SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, FGCU boasts a 43-16 (.729) record in A-Sun games – six more wins than any other team in the league (North Florida, 37).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
FGCU has the following records in 2+ years under the direction of Dooley:
 
Leading At The Half: 45-3 (.938)
Scoring At Least 80 Points: 21-3 (.875)
Grabbing More Rebounds: 48-8 (.857)
Holding Opponent Below 40% FG: 35-4 (.897)
Scoring At Least 70 Points: 38-8 (.826)
 
ON RECORD PACE
FGCU is on pace for several D-I and all-time program records this year:
 
Points Per Game: 77.8 – Would shatter the D-I record of 72.9 set by the Sweet Sixteen team in 2012-13.
Rebounds Per Game: 40.9 – Would set the D-I record, besting each of the previous two years (38.1 in 2014-15 and 36.6 in 2013-14).
Field-Goal Percentage: 47 – Would be the best all-time, just ahead of the record of 46.7 percent in 2013-14.
Blocks Per Game: 4.1 – Would shatter the best mark all-time as no team has ever even averaged 4 blocks per game in a season.
Scoring Margin: +6.4 – Would be the best in D-I history, just ahead of the +6.1 differential in 2012-13.
 
YOUNG, TALENTED AND DEEP
FGCU has just two seniors on its roster, and so far this year 82 percent of its scoring, 87 percent of its rebounding (excluding team rebounds) and 88 percent of its assists have come from non-seniors.
 
Not only are the Eagles young and talented, but they are deep as this year 10 different players have reached double-figure points in a game. The only teams in the nation with more are Boston University (12) and Georgia Southern (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 (or tied) the team in scoring.
 
R-Jr. Norelia (11 – includes a tie): 34
R-Fr. Johnson (5 – includes two ties): 26
So. Terrell (7 – includes a tie): 25
R-Sr. DeBose (2): 20
Fr. Rayjon Tucker (1): 19
R-Sr. Cvjeticanin (1): 18
Fr. Reid: 18
R-So. Antravious Simmons: 17
R-So. Kevin Mickle: 14
R-Jr. Morant: 12
 
In a further testament to the youthful and talented group, Reid leads all A-Sun freshmen in assists per game (3.6), Johnson is 3rd among all A-Sun freshmen in scoring (11), Terrell leads all A-Sun sophomores in points per game (13.1), Simmons leads all A-Sun sophomores in rebounds per game (5.1) and Norelia is 2nd among all A-Sun juniors in rebounds per game (8.8).
 
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
FGCU played a challenging non-conference schedule as all but two of FGCU's seven non-league losses came against top-150 RPI teams, including two losses to top-25 teams (#11 Texas A&M, 75-65; #21 Florida, 70-50) and three to top-50 teams (#43 South Dakota State, 56-52) – and two of those three losses came by 10 points or less. FGCU also dropped an 85-75 decision at #108 Ohio, and a 66-63 contest to #129 Louisiana Tech.
 
MILESTONE MARK
FGCU won its 250th all-time game with the aforementioned 85-56 decision over USC Upstate on Jan. 16. The Eagles enter Thursday's game with an all-time record (since 2002-03) of 252-184 (.578).
 
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.
 
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 115-87 (.569), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 58-35 (.624).
 
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.