JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The two winningest men's basketball programs in the Atlantic Sun Conference the last two years are set to clash in an A-Sun Championship semifinal Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when 4th-seeded FGCU (18-13) visits top-seeded North Florida (22-10).
 
OPENING TIP
Despite entering as the 4th seed, FGCU has the opportunity to host the A-Sun Championship final on Sunday at 7 p.m. with a win over the Ospreys as the Eagles would be the highest-remaining seed. On the bottom half of the bracket, 6th-seeded Lipscomb – which won at 3rd-seeded Jacksonville in the quarterfinals – hosts 7th-seeded Stetson – which knocked out 2nd-seeded NJIT on the road. Both semifinal games will be broadcast on ESPN3, with the Lipscomb-Stetson contest tipping off at 7 p.m. Eastern. The tournament final will air live on ESPN2.
 
QUARTERFINAL RECAP
#1 North Florida 92, #8 USC Upstate 69
#2 NJIT 67, #7 Stetson 82
#3 Jacksonville 89, #6 Lipscomb 92 (OT)
#4 FGCU 74, #5 Kennesaw State 64
 
TWEETABLES
1) FGCU and UNF have only met one previous time in the A-Sun Championship, and that was a 73-63 Eagles' win in the 2013 quarterfinals.
2) This will be FGCU's first true A-Sun Championship road game (5-1 at Mercer's 'neutral' arena in 2012 and 2013; 4-2 at home from 2014-present).
3) FGCU has had 20 games this year decided by 10 points or less (9-11 in those games), matching the Division-I program record from 2011-12.
4) The Eagles shot 52 percent and finished with a +14 rebound edge against Kennesaw State – both tied for the 2nd-best in the program's A-Sun Championship history.
5)  Joe Dooley will be coaching his 100th game with the Eagles. In only his 3rd year, Dooley already has a D-I program-record 62 wins (62-37, .626).
 
CONTRAST IN STYLES
The Eagles receive 60.5 percent of their total points from 2-point field goals, ranking as the 5th-highest percentage in the nation. By comparison, UNF ranks 344th in the nation (out of 351 teams) in that category at 41.5 percent and allows the highest percentage of made 2-point baskets in the country (63.1) However, the Ospreys lead the country by a wide margin in 3-pointers made with 394 and are 3rd in the nation in percentage of total points from 3-point field goals at 43.5, while the Eagles are 339th at 20.5 percent.
 
SERIES HISTORY (FGCU Leads, 12-10)
The series has been a streak of runs by both teams as FGCU opened with six-straight victories before the Ospreys responded with seven triumphs in a row. FGCU had a five-game winning streak in the series snapped at UNF last year as the Ospreys defeated the Eagles twice in the regular season, becoming the first A-Sun foe to beat FGCU twice in the same regular season since Lipscomb in 2012-13. UNF had won three in a row over the Eagles until FGCU pulled away in the second half in their meeting at Alico last month, 81-65.
 
SEASON REVIEW vs. NORTH FLORIDA
FIRST MEETING: FGCU was down just two with 90 seconds remaining, but UNF held on for an 82-76 victory. FGCU shot 48.4 percent (31-64) from the floor compared with UNF's 45.8 percent (27-59). The Eagles also secured a 41-30 rebound edge which led to a 12-10 advantage in second-chance points. FGCU dominated the low blocks with a season-high 56 points in the paint to just 24 for the Ospreys, but the difference came from the 3-point line as UNF went 13-32 (40.6 percent) compared with 2-6 (33.3 percent) for FGCU.
 
SECOND MEETING: Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) returned to the FGCU lineup after missing seven-straight games, and the Eagles handed UNF its 3rd-largest defeat of the year (and largest A-Sun setback), 81-65. FGCU held the 3rd-highest scoring offense in the country (85.7) to a season-low 35-percent shooting (21-60) from the floor, 20 points below its season average and limited the nation's most lethal 3-point attack to just 28.6 percent (10-35) from beyond the arc. Additionally, the Green and Blue frustrated A-Sun Player of the Year Dallas Moore, holding him to just five points (15 below his season average) on 2-10 from the floor – the only time this year he failed to reach double-figure points.
 
SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
^ UNF won the A-Sun regular season championship and tournament title last year and defended its regular-season crown this year as the Ospreys return four starters from last season.
^ In addition to being the most prolific 3-point shooting team in the nation, UNF – which only has seven players averaging double-figure minutes – has the 10th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation at 1.53, ranks 9th in the nation in total blocks with 166 and 6th in total assists with 538.
^ Leading the offensive attack for the Ospreys is Moore, who averages a league-best 19.8 points and 6.1 assists per game. Fellow A-Sun First Team selection Beau Beech adds 15.6 points per game, A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year Demarcus Daniels tallies 12.8, A-Sun Scholar-Athlete of the Year Trent Mackey contributes 12.5 and Chris Davenport rounds out five double-figure scorers at 12.3 as the Ospreys are one of eight teams nationally that has five players averaging double-figure points.
^ The Ospreys are one of only two teams in the nation that boasts five 1,000-point scorers as the entire starting lineup has eclipsed the milestone mark in their careers (Moore and Davenport are juniors).
 
A-SUN TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
This is only FGCU's 5th season eligible for the A-Sun Championship, and in the first three years the Eagles reached the final game each year – the only program in the history of D-I men's basketball to accomplish that feat.
 
The Eagles were the 6th seed in the 2012 tournament and went 2-0 before losing to Belmont in the title game. In the 2013 tournament, FGCU was seeded 2nd and went 3-0, beating Mercer in the final game. In 2014, the Green and Blue was the top seed and went 2-1, suffering a setback to Mercer in the final. Last year, FGCU was the 2nd seed and went 1-1, falling at home in the semifinals to 3rd seed USC Upstate, 63-62.
 
FGCU's 9-3 record in A-Sun Championship games is good for a .750 winning percentage, by far the best among all current A-Sun teams. In fact, FGCU and North Florida are the only current league members which are .500 or better all-time in A-Sun Championship games as the Ospreys are 6-5 (.545), and four of those wins have come since last year.
 
Furthermore, despite appearing in the A-Sun Championship only five times now, FGCU owns the 2nd-most wins in the tournament of any current conference member:
 
Most Wins Record (Appearances)
Stetson: 10-22 (23)
FGCU: 9-3 (5)
North Florida: 6-5 (7)
Lipscomb: 6-11 (12)
Jacksonville: 5-17 (17)
USC Upstate: 4-5 (5)
Kennesaw State: 1-4 (4)
NJIT: 0-1 (1)
 
FGCU and North Florida are the only schools currently in the A-Sun which have won an A-Sun Men's Basketball Championship. FGCU won its tournament championship in 2013, while UNF claimed its last year. The Eagles joined the league in 2007-08 with USC Upstate, and prior to that UNF 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. NJIT is in its 1st year in the A-Sun.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) and Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) were recognized for standout seasons on Monday as Norelia was named to the A-Sun First Team, while Johnson was tabbed as an A-Sun All-Freshmen Team member in voting conducted by the league's eight head coaches.
 
Norelia leads FGCU in nearly every offensive category as he ranks 6th in the A-Sun in scoring at 17 points per game, 2nd in rebounding at 9.1 per game and 4th in field-goal percentage at .537. The redshirt junior was named A-Sun Player of the Week on three occasions this year. It marks the 4th-straight year FGCU has had at least one representative on the A-Sun First Team – the longest such streak in the conference.
 
Johnson came on strong in league action and has now reached double-figure points in 15 of the last 18 games. He is averaging 10.8 points per game and was a unanimous selection to the team. The redshirt point guard finished the year tied with his fellow freshman backcourt mate Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) for the most assists in the A-Sun by a freshman with 97 and now has a league-best 100 among freshmen.
 
With 12 rebounds in the quarterfinal game against Kennesaw State, Norelia set the single-season program record with 282 caroms (was 274 by Adam Liddell in 2006-07). Johnson is currently 4th on the all-time freshman scoring list at FGCU (336 points), behind only Christophe Varidel (345 in 2010-11), Bernard Thompson (368 in 2011-12) and Anthony Banks (374 in 2009-10).
 
For more information about Norelia's and Johnson's awards, click here.
 
A-SUN RANKS
FGCU leads the A-Sun in rebounding (39.9 per game), points allowed (70.7 per game), field goal percentage defense (.418) and 3-point percentage defense (.303).
 
PROTECTING THE ROCK
FGCU has set the single-season program record with nine games of single-digit turnovers this year, surpassing the previous record of eight from 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 nearly three seasons in charge of the Eagles they have posted 23 of the program's 29 single-digit turnovers games in the D-I era (since 2007-08).
 
RECORD-SETTING SEASON
Norelia has set the FGCU record for double-doubles in a season with 13. The previous mark was nine by Robinson Tisme in the program's first season in 2002-03. Additionally, Norelia has missed a double-double on five other occasions by just a single rebound each time.
 
In addition to his already-established single-season rebound record, the southpaw is also closing in on several D-I and all-time program single-season records:
 
Points Per Game: 17 – Would be the best in D-I history and 3rd-best all-time (Leighton Bowie (19.5 in 2003-04).
Field Goals Made: 203 – Currently 2nd all-time, with the record of 210 held by Sherwood Brown in 2012-13 (37 games).
Rebounds Per Game: 9.1 – Would be the best in program history, well ahead of Adam Liddell's 8.3 mark in 2006-07.
 
PLAYER QUICK HITS
^ Reid ranks 4th among all freshmen nationally in assist rate at 31.8 percent – the percentage of field goals made by a team that a player assists on while in the game.
^ Morant has 75 career blocks, just five 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 seven games ago after missing the previous seven contests with a muscle bruise in his right leg.
^ 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 Feb. 6 against North Florida. He entered the game against the Ospreys needing just five points to reach the mark and now has 1,056 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 2015 graduate Thompson  with 219. Ryan Hopkins (2002-05) holds the all-time record with 355. Cvjeticanin missed the final two games of the regular season with concussion symptoms after hitting his head on the floor following a Lipscomb illegal screen on Feb. 18. He dressed but did not play in the quarterfinals.
 
BREAKOUT SEASON
After averaging just 3.3 points per game last year, sophomore Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) has catapulted to 12.5 per game this year – an increase of 9.2 – and has led the Eagles in scoring eight 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 150.

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) The Green and Blue has scored 80 or more points in a game 13 times this year after reaching that mark 12 total times in the previous two years combined.
3) Nine times this year FGCU has had a game decided by five points or less. The Eagles are 5-4 in such games.
 
A-SUN SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, FGCU boasts a 46-18 (.719) record in A-Sun games – six more wins than any other team in the league (North Florida, 40).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
FGCU has the following records under the direction of Dooley:

Leading At The Half: 48-4 (.923)
Holding Opponent Below 40% FG: 36-4 (.900)
Scoring At Least 80 Points: 22-3 (.880)
Grabbing More Rebounds: 51-9 (.850)
Scoring At Least 70 Points: 41-9 (.820)
 
ON RECORD PACE
FGCU is on pace for several D-I and all-time program records this year:
 
Points Per Game: 76.5 – Would shatter the D-I record of 72.9 set by the Sweet Sixteen team in 2012-13.
Rebounds Per Game: 39.9 – 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: 47.2 – Would be the best all-time, just ahead of the record of 46.7 percent in 2013-14.
Blocks Per Game: 4 – Would be the best mark all-time, just ahead of the 3.9 average by the 2011-12 club.
Scoring Margin: +5.8 – Would be the 2nd-best in D-I history, just behind the +6.1 margin by the 2012-13 team.
 
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 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 (16 – includes a tie): 34
R-Fr. Johnson (5 – includes two ties): 26
So. Terrell (8 – 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 (3.3), Johnson is 3rd among all A-Sun freshmen in scoring (10.8), Terrell is 2nd among all A-Sun sophomores in points per game (12.5), Simmons is 2nd among A-Sun sophomores in rebounds per game (4.6) and Norelia is 2nd among A-Sun juniors in rebounds per contest (9.1).
 
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
FGCU played a challenging non-conference schedule as all but two of its seven non-league losses came against top-125 RPI teams, including three losses to top-50 teams (#21 Texas A&M, 75-65; #41 South Dakota State, 56-52 and #45 Florida, 70-50) – and two of those three setbacks came by 10 points or less. FGCU also dropped an 85-75 decision at #78 Ohio, and a 66-63 contest to #123 Louisiana Tech.
 
MILESTONE MARK
FGCU won its 250th all-time game with an 85-56 decision over USC Upstate on Jan. 16. The Eagles enter Thursday's game with an all-time record (since 2002-03) of 256-186 (.579).
 
GOLDEN SUMMER
DeBose won a gold medal as part of Team USA at the World University Games (WUG) last 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.

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 3rd year with the Eagles in 2015-16 and has coached eight all-conference selections. 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 3rd-straight 20-win season and 3rd-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 7th season overall as a head coach and has a record of 119-89 (.572), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 62-37 (.626).
 
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.