DUNK CITY, Fla. – Coming off a stunning and dominant 33-point win at top-seeded North Florida Thursday night, the 4th-seeded FGCU men's basketball team (19-13) will host the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Final Sunday night at Alico Arena against upstart 7th seed Stetson (12-21) at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Because of the standing-room-only sellout crowd, doors to Alico Arena will open at 5:30 p.m. All fans are encouraged to wear white to create a whiteout atmosphere on national TV.
 
OPENING TIP ITEMS
^ FGCU held the nation's 3rd-leading offense in UNF 30 points below its season average in an 89-56 win in the semifinals. Stetson won at 2nd-seeded NJIT, 82-67, and at 6th-seeded Lipscomb, 96-75, to advance to its first A-Sun title game since 1994.
^ This will be FGCU's fourth A-Sun Championship Final appearance in just five seasons of eligibility. The Eagles are 1-2, losing to Belmont in 2012, defeating Mercer in 2013 and falling to Mercer in 2014.
^ With a victory, FGCU would reach the 20-win plateau for the 4th-straight season.
^ FGCU has won both A-Sun Championship meetings with Stetson, defeating the Hatters in the semifinals in 2013, 72-58, and in the quarterfinals in 2014, 77-55.
^ In their first meeting this year, the Eagles dominated Stetson at Alico Arena en route to an 82-53 win on Jan. 9. However, just last Thursday FGCU lost an 18-point 1st-half lead (24-6 start) at Stetson and fell, 80-73.
 
APR CLARIFICATION
While Stetson has been playing in the A-Sun Championship, the Hatters are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament due to APR (Academic Progress Rate) sanctions. If Stetson were to win the A-Sun Championship, the league's regular-season champion, North Florida, would take the Hatters' spot in the NCAA Tournament. If FGCU wins, the Eagles advance to the NCAA Tournament and North Florida goes to the NIT as a result of winning the regular season. For more information about this situation, please click here to read the A-Sun background information.
 
TWEETABLES
1) Stetson ranks 2nd in the A-Sun in scoring at 80.3 points per game, while FGCU leads the league by holding opponents to just 70.2 points per contest.
2) In 17 of their last 19 games, the Eagles have out-scored their opponents in the paint, including a 42-14 edge at UNF in the semifinals.
3) FGCU's 33-point win over UNF was the largest loss for a No. 1 seed in A-Sun Championship history (since 1979).
4) The Eagles have scored 80 points or more 14 times this year after reaching that mark just 12 total times in Joe Dooley's first two years at the helm.
5) With a double-double, Marc-Eddy Norelia would be the first player in program history to record four-straight double-doubles.
 
REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE
FGCU leads the A-Sun in rebound margin at +5, while Stetson is last at -4.4. Seventeen of FGCU's 19 wins this year have come when out-rebounding its opponent, while Stetson is 4-18 this season when being out-rebounded.

LOW-POST EDGE
In addition to its rebounding edge, FGCU also has an advantage in low-post scoring. FGCU receives 60.8 percent of its total points from 2-point field goals, ranking as the 5th-highest percentage in the nation, while Stetson ranks 194th in the country at 49.8 percent. In their two meetings this year, FGCU has out-scored the Hatters in the paint by 25 points. Dating back to near the end of the 2011-12 season, FGCU is 36-3 when finishing a game with a +15 edge in paint points.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU holds a 13-7 advantage in the all-time series with Stetson, which started when the Eagles joined Division I and the A-Sun in 2007-08. The Eagles had won seven in a row over the Hatters by an average of 17 points per game until Feb. 25 when Stetson ended the streak. The Hatters won the first three meetings – and four of the first five – but since then the Eagles have claimed 12 of 15 contests since 2010.
 
SEASON REVIEW vs. STETSON
FIRST MEETING: Behind a record-setting 1st half in which it staked itself to a 27-point lead, FGCU rolled to a dominant 82-53 victory to open league play at Alico Arena. The Eagles shot a blistering 71.4 percent (20-28) in the opening stanza, their best percentage in program history in any half against a D-I opponent. FGCU led by as much as 32 in the second half as the 29-point margin of victory was tied for the 3rd-largest in program history against an A-Sun opponent in the regular season. The Eagles once again displayed their depth as 55 total points came from the bench compared with just 13 for Stetson.
 
SECOND MEETING: Despite another huge double-double performance from Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia), FGCU let a big 1st-half lead get away and fell at Stetson in the regular-season finale, 80-73. The Eagles opened up an 18-point lead, 24-6, not even 9 minutes into the game. However, Stetson – which won at UNF this year – chipped away and the Eagles took just a 38-35 lead into the halftime break. With the game tied, 38-38, the Green and Blue responded with an 8-0 run – the first six from Norelia – to create a 46-38 edge. With FGCU up, 53-52 at the 13-minute mark, Stetson used a 12-1 run over the next five minutes to open up its largest lead of the night, 64-54, with just under 8 minutes remaining and got no closer than three with 90 seconds left.
 
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, and the Hatters did along with USC Upstate before getting hot in the last week and winning three straight.
^ The Hatters are even younger than FGCU as they do not have a senior on the roster and only three juniors.
^ A-Sun Freshman of the Year Derick Newton leads a trio of double-figure scorers with 16.1 points per game. He's followed by sophomore Divine Myles (13.8) and junior Brian Pegg (12.8).
^ While Stetson is 2nd in the conference in scoring, it is last in the league in scoring defense as it gives up 82.6 per outing.
^ Pegg leads the A-Sun in rebounding (10 per game) as he has secured a league-leading 18 double-doubles on the year. Myles is tied for 4th in the league in steals (1.4) and 5th in assists (4.2).
^ Corey Williams is in his 3rd season as head coach of the Hatters and has a 28-67 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.
 
PIVOTAL EMERGENCE
With FGCU trailing 21-12 at UNF on Thursday and on the verge of possibly being blown out, redshirt senior Filip Cvjeticanin (Zagreb, Croatia/American School of Madrid) stepped up in a huge way for the Eagles. Cvjeticanin hit a 3-pointer out of an FGCU timeout to settle the Eagles down, hit another a few minutes later to extend the Green and Blue lead to four, 28-24, and hit a final 1st-half 3 to put them up seven, 35-28. FGCU never led by fewer than seven the rest of the night.
 
What made the performance noteworthy was that Cvjeticanin had not scored a single point since Jan. 27. Mired with limited playing time and coming off a concussion which had him miss the final two games of the regular season, Cvjeticanin finished with 11 points and is now 3rd on the program's career list for made 3-pointers with 181.
 
A-SUN RANKS
FGCU leads the A-Sun in rebounding (40.2 per game), points allowed (70.2 per game), field goal percentage defense (.415) and 3-point percentage defense (.301).
 
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 turnover games in the D-I era (since 2007-08).
 
HOME-COURT DOMINANCE
FGCU is 58-11 (.841) at Alico Arena since 2012-13. Eight of those 11 losses have come since the start of the 2014-15 season. FGCU is 15-4 at home this year – with the 15 wins being the most among A-Sun schools – was 13-4 last year, went 15-2 in 2013-14 and 15-1 in 2012-13.
 
Versus A-Sun foes during the regular season since 2012-13, FGCU is 28-3 (.903) at The Nest. The Eagles had won 21 straight regular-season games at Alico against A-Sun competition before losing to North Florida in the home regular-season finale last year (other losses: Lipscomb in overtime during the 2012-13 season and earlier this season versus Jacksonville).
 
A-SUN TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
After becoming D-I postseason eligible in 2011-12, FGCU reached the A-Sun Championship Final in each of its first three years – 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 10-3 record in A-Sun Championship games is good for a .769 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 6-6 (.500), and four of those wins have come in the last two years.
 
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: 11-22 (23)
FGCU: 10-3 (5)
North Florida: 6-6 (7)
Lipscomb: 6-12 (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
Norelia 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 17.2 points per game, 2nd in rebounding at 9.2 per game and 4th in field-goal percentage at .538. 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 16 of the last 19 games. He is averaging 11 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 both have a league-best 101 among freshmen. Johnson is currently 3rd on the all-time freshman scoring list at FGCU (351 points), behind only 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.
 
RECORD-SETTING SEASON
Norelia has set the FGCU record for double-doubles in a season with 14. 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.
 
The southpaw has already established, or is approaching, several D-I and all-time program single-season records:

Rebounds: 295 – The most all-time, surpassing the previous mark of 274 by Adam Liddell in 2006-07.
Rebounds Per Game: 9.2 – Would be the best in program history, well ahead of Liddell's 8.3 mark in 2006-07.
Field Goals Made: 213 – The most all-time, surpassing the previous mark of 210 held by Sherwood Brown in 2012-13 (37 games).
Points Per Game: 17.2 – Would be the best in D-I history and 3rd-best all-time (Leighton Bowie (19.5 in 2003-04).
Points: 551 – Currently the 3rd-most all-time, just 30 points behind the record of 580 set by Ryan Hopkins in 2002-03.
 
PLAYER QUICK HITS
^ Reid ranks 4th among all freshmen nationally in assist rate at 31.4 percent – the percentage of field goals made by a team that a player assists on while in the game.
^ Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) has 77 career blocks, just three 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 eight 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 1,060 for his career.
 
BREAKOUT SEASON
After averaging just 3.3 points per game last year, sophomore Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) has catapulted to 12.6 per game this year – an increase of 9.3 – 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 Sunday's contest with the 2nd-most rebounds on the team this year with 156.

RE-TWEETS
1) FGCU has 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) Nine times this year FGCU has had a game decided by five points or less. The Eagles are 5-4 in such games.
3) FGCU has had 20 games this year decided by 10 points or less (9-11 in those games), matching the D-I program record from 2011-12.
 
A-SUN SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, FGCU boasts a 46-18 (.719) record in A-Sun regular-season 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: 49-4 (.925)
Holding Opponent Below 40% FG: 37-4 (.902)
Scoring At Least 80 Points: 23-3 (.885)
Grabbing More Rebounds: 52-9 (.852)
Scoring At Least 70 Points: 42-9 (.824)
 
ON RECORD PACE
FGCU is on pace for several D-I and all-time program records this year:
 
Points Per Game: 76.9 – Would shatter the D-I record of 72.9 set by the Sweet Sixteen team in 2012-13.
Rebounds Per Game: 40.2 – 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: 47.5 – 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: +6.7 – Would be the best in D-I history, bettering the previous margin of +6.1 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 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 (17 – 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 A-Sun freshmen in scoring (11), Terrell is 2nd among A-Sun sophomores in points per game (12.6), Simmons is 2nd among A-Sun sophomores in rebounds per game (4.7) and Norelia is 2nd among A-Sun juniors in rebounds per contest (9.2).
 
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
FGCU played a challenging non-conference schedule as all but two of its seven non-league losses came against top-110 RPI teams, including three losses to top-60 teams (#20 Texas A&M, 75-65; #40 South Dakota State, 56-52; #56 Florida, 70-50) – and two of those three setbacks came by 10 points or less. FGCU also dropped an 85-75 decision at #80 Ohio, and a 66-63 contest to #110 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 Sunday's game with an all-time record (since 2002-03) of 257-186 (.580).
 
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.
 
NEXT UP
If FGCU wins, the Eagles' NCAA Tournament opponent and complete 68-team bracket will be unveiled live on CBS on Sunday, Mar. 13, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
 
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 120-89 (.574), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 63-37 (.630).
 
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.