Â
Â
| 2019-20 NCAA Men's Basketball Weekly Whistle #6 |
| • J.D. Collins, NCAA national coordinator of men's basketball officials, clarifies and provides examples of rules points of emphasis for the 2019-20 men's basketball season. This episode focuses on Freedom of Movement for Cutters. |
Â
FORT MYERS, Fla. – It's the penultimate game of the non-conference slate as the FGCU men's basketball team hosts St. Thomas on Saturday night at Alico Arena. The game will tip-off at 7 PM and will be streamed live on ESPN+. It will be the final home game before an eight-day break for the holidays and traveling to Southern California on Dec. 29.
FGCU is coming off a 75-56 loss at South Dakota State on Wednesday night in Brookings. Sophomore
Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla.) scored 13 points to lead the Eagles followed by junior
Justus Rainwater (Enumclaw, Wash.) who tied his career high with 12 points.
Of the Eagles' 11 loses this season, a total of five have been decided by six-or-fewer points (1-4) for FGCU - reflective of a mostly new roster.
As a team, the Eagles rank among the top three in the ASUN for nine different statistical categories. FGCU leads the league in total steals (89), steals per game (6.8), total blocked shots (59), and blocked shots per game (4.5). Defensively, the Eagles rank fifth in the ASUN in points allowed per game (70.1), but have struggled offensively with 59.4 points per outing which ranks seventh in the league.
Individually, sophomore
Zach Scott (Miami, Fla.) leads the league in total steals (25), junior
Jalen Warren (Milton, Ontario) ranks third in total assists (42), freshman
Dakota Rivers (Windemere, Fla.) leads the league in total blocks (22), and Rainwater ranks fifth in total rebounds (92).
Scott continues to lead the Eagles offensively, averaging 11.9 points per game. He has contributed double-digit points in all but five games. He is followed closely by Catto (10.0 ppg) and Warren (8.7 ppg). The trio has combined for 398 points, over half of the team's 772 total this year.
Warren and Catto have also done a great job of sharing the rock. Warren leads the team with 42 assists, while Catto has contributed 33.
Opponents have had a hard time shooting over bigs Rainwater and Rivers, as the duo has combined for 39 blocks this year. Rivers is averaging 1.69 blocks per game, the 12th-most of any other freshman in the nation.
St. Thomas is 7-2 on the year with the game counting as an exhibition contest for the Bobcats. This will be the only NCAA Division I opponent St. Thomas, an NAIA member in The Sun Conference, will face this season. Justin Brown leads the Bobcats with 23.0 points per game followed by Ahmad Gilbert who is scoring 15.6 points per outing with a team-high 8.5 rebounds.Â
FGCU will break for the holidays before next playing at USC in Los Angeles on Sunday, Dec. 29. The game will be on the PAC-12 Network.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting the Alico Arena Box Office, online at www.FGCUAthletics.com or calling 239-590-7145.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. THOMAS
• Saturday's game will be the second all-time against St. Thomas and the first since an exhiition match-up to begin the 2007 season. It will count as a regular game for the Eagles but will be a mid-season exhibition for the Bobcats.
• The first meeting in 2007 came when FGCU was entering its first season as a NCAA Division I member while, for St. Thomas, it was the first year since 1999 that the school had fielded a team.
BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
FGCU basketball tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now including single-game tickets and the popular mini-plan options. For more information, contact an FGCU Ticket Office representative by calling 239-590-7145, visiting Alico Arena Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or by visiting www.FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets.Â
Â
COACH FLY
Michael Fly was introduced as the fourth FGCU men's basketball head coach on April 5, 2018. He had spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach on the Eagles' staff. In his time with the Eagles, he helped FGCU to a 157-98 record (.618 winning percentage), including six ASUN Tournament Final appearances, three NCAA Tournament victories, three ASUN Tournament titles and three ASUN Regular Season Championships, two berths in the NIT, a CIT appearance and a run to the Sweet 16. He has coached 13 all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant and one ASUN Newcomer of the Year inÂ
Schadrac Casimir. Of the top-10 players in career points at FGCU, Fly has helped develop eight of them, including all-time leading scorer Thompson (1,835). Additionally, the Kentucky alumnus has coached both the ASUN all-time assists leader Brett Comer (845; 24th in NCAA history) and FGCU all-time leading rebounder Chase Fieler (714).
Â
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.
Â
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 80 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as two of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
Â
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--
Â
