FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 2019-20 campaign officially tips off on Tuesday night as the FGCU men's basketball team heads to the Gateway to the West to take on Saint Louis. The game is slated for an 8 PM start and will be televised regionally on Fox Sports Midwest+ and streamed nationally on ESPN+.
This will be the first-ever match-up between FGCU and Saint Louis. The Billikens went 23-13 overall last year and captured the Atlantic 10 tournament title behind a thrilling 55-53 win over St. Bonaventure in the championship. Their season ended in the NCAA Tournament with a loss to fourth-seeded Virginia Tech.
SLU graduated its leading scorer Javon Bess, who averaged 15.3 PPG and was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, but forward Hasahn French is one of the team's top returners after averaging 9.3 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds as a sophomore.
The Eagles are 2-3 all-time against teams from the Atlantic 10 with the most recent meeting against a conference foe coming in 2017 at Rhode Island. FGCU's best record against an A-10 team is 2-0 versus the University of Massachusetts.
FGCU is coming off an injury-plagued 2018-19 campaign where the Eagles posted a 14-18 overall record. Despite the adversity, FGCU finished tied for 3
rd in the ASUN, posted a 10-4 ledger at Alico Arena and went 7-1 against league foes at home.
Leading the Eagles in the new year with be the guard tandem of sophomore
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla.) and sophomore
Zach Scott (Miami, Fla.). Scott averaged 8.4 points during his freshman campaign where he earned ASUN All-Rookie Team honors. Catto saw action in all 32 games with increasing minutes as the season progressed and finished his rookie year averaging 4.1 points.
The interior both offensively and defensively will be anchored by junior
Brian Thomas (Kennesaw, Ga.) who returned last December from injury and led the Eagles in blocked shots (44) while also posting 4.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Several newcomers will figure to make prominent impacts on the line-up as the season begins.
Junior
Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario) will be one of two primary point guards on the team after transferring to FGCU from Eastern Florida State College where he averaged 12.8 points and 5.3 assists last year. Junior
Sam Gagliardi (Gig Harbor, Wash.) will be a deep threat around the perimeter after notching 12.7 points on 93 three-pointers last year at Citrus College. Redshirt-sophomore
Malik Hardy (Miramar, Fla.) will also be eligible this year after sitting in 2018-19. In his freshman season at Nova Southeastern, Hardy averaged 17.1 points, thanks to a 43.5 percent average beyond the arc, and 4.5 rebounds.
On the inside, junior
Justus Rainwater (Enumclaw, Wash.) and senior
Tracy Hector, Jr. (Riverdale, Ga.), add size and athleticism. Rainwater posted 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds last year at Cochise College, while Hector scored 6.8 per game while adding 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
A talented freshman class is also expected to have potential for the Eagles with
Jalen Harper (Mableton, Ga.),
Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla.), and
Qwanzi Samuels (District Heights, Md.) expected to make contributions throughout the campaign.
Following Tuesday's opener, FGCU will play its home opener at Alico Arena on Saturday, Nov. 9 as fellow NCAA Tournament Cinderella star UMBC visits Fort Myers. Tip-off is set for 3 PM as the Eagles go for their 100
th all-time home win.
Tickets are on sale now, but limited, and can be purchased by visiting the Alico Arena Box Office, going online to
www.FGCUAthletics.com or calling 239-590-7145.
For complete coverage of FGCU men's basketball team, follow the program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online at www.fgcuathletics.com.
