FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team will play host to Jacksonville at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 inside Alico Arena. The Saturday tilt will be part of the campus-wide Homecoming Week festivities and will also be a Blueout. The contest will be sponsored by NCH Healthcare Systems.

The Eagles (8-15, 3-5 ASUN) will look to continue their dominant play at home as of late, while the Dolphins (10-13, 3-5 ASUN) have won two of their last three.
  SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 24th all-time meeting between FGCU and JU. The Eagles hold a narrow 12-11 advantage, which includes victories in the last four meetings. FGCU is also 12-4 against the Dolphins since 2011. Jacksonville claimed the first seven matchups from 2008-10.

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU dropped a tough 66-54 decision to NJIT this past Wednesday night inside NJIT Wellness and Events Center.
 
The Eagles were led by a career performance from Troy Baxter Jr., as the sophomore went 8-for-16 from the field and tallied career highs in both points (21) and made 3-pointers (4). Senior Schadrac Casimir contributed seven points, seven rebounds and four assists, and junior Christian Carlyle finished 4-for-6 with eight points.
 
FGCU shot 48.9 percent (23-for-47) from the field, 29.2 percent (7-for-24) from behind the 3-point line and 25 percent (1-for-4) at the free-throw line. The Highlanders shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) overall, 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from distance and 52.9 percent (9-for-17) at the stripe.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Jacksonville enters Saturday with a 10-13 ledger and a 3-5 mark in the ASUN. The Dolphins rattled off six wins in a seven-game stretch earlier this season, but since that mark they have dropped eight of their last 11. They own league triumphs over Kennesaw State, North Florida and Stetson.

Despite only starting 14 games this season, JD Notae has become one of the most lethal scorers in the ASUN. He leads JU in both scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg). Jace Hogan (13.4 ppg) is the only other player to average in double digits, and his 5.6 rebounds per game is also second on the team.

Jacksonville has an impressive 5-7 road record this season, most recently knocking off the Ospreys on their home floor (Jan. 24).

LACES OF LOVE
FGCU product, World Series Champion and current Boston Red Sox staff ace Chris Sale and his wife, Brianne, have once again partnered with local charity Laces of Love. New shoes/sneakers will be accepted upon entry to Alico Arena at the Feb. 2 doubleheader against Jacksonville and will be given to children in need in Lee and Collier Counties.

THE TREACHEROUS NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
FGCU tallied just a 5-10 record during the non-conference portion of its schedule, but part of that can be attributed to a brutal early-season slate. The Green and Blue entered ASUN action with the second-highest strength of schedule in the league, which was a mark that also ranked No. 73 in the nation. The top SOS in the league belonged to North Alabama at No. 23 in the nation. Lipscomb had the third-highest strength of schedule among ASUN schools at No. 79 nationally, while Kennesaw State (No. 85) and North Florida (No. 90) rounded out the top five.

Of the 15 teams FGCU faced during the non-conference slate, 14 are currently .500 or better overall or in conference play. Michigan State leads the Big Ten, South Dakota State leads the Summit League and UTSA leads Conference USA. Illinois State, Toledo, FAU, FIU, Colgate, UMBC, Florida, and Ole Miss all currently boast winning overall records. ISU, Toledo, UMBC, and Ole Miss all have winning records in their respective league campaigns, as well.

TOUGH ROAD
FGCU played one of the toughest mid-major non-conference schedules in the country in 2018-19. Each of their first four Division I opponents (Illinois State, No. 10 Michigan State, South Dakota State, and Toledo) either won their regular season conference championship or played in their conference championship game last season. South Dakota State played in the NCAA Championship a year ago, while both Michigan State and Florida advanced to the second round of the tournament.
 
EAGLE LEADERS

Points Per Game		Rebounds Per Game		Assists Per Game
1. Schadrac Casimir	13.9	1. RaySean Scott Jr.	6.8	1. Decardo Day	3.6
2. Christian Carlyle	8.4	2. Brady Ernst	4.5	2. Christian Carlyle	2.2
3. Dinero Mercurius	8.4	3. Brian Thomas	4.1	3. Schadrac Casimir	2.0
FG %		3pt %		FT %
1. Brian Thomas	.711	1. Schadrac Casimir	.491	1. Schadrac Casimir	.875
2. Brady Ernst	.636	2. Zach Scott	.389	2. Dinero Mercurius	.766
3. Schadrac Casimir	.477	3. Dinero Mercurius	.330	3. Troy Baxter Jr.	.655

 
JOURNEY TO 1,000
Two current Eagles have reached the 1,000-point mark in seniors Schadrac Casimir (1,432) and Dinero Mercurius (1,050). Casimir scored 1,112 of those points in NCAA Tournament campaigns at Iona prior to transferring to FGCU.
 
Mercurius surpassed the mark with a five-point effort against Liberty on Jan. 5. He earned his 1,000+ points between stops at USF, Daytona State and now at FGCU.
 
Haanif Cheatham will land just shy of the plateau. He suffered a season-ending injury and will end his career with 876 points.

FGCU SUCCESS IN THE ASUN
Since the infamous dawn of #DunkCity in 2013, the Eagles have dominated the ASUN Conference. FGCU has won six combined conference championships over the past six years, which includes three regular-season titles and three tournament crowns. The rest of the league combined accounts for the remaining six titles. North Florida leads the way with three, former member Mercer has two championships, and Lipscomb completes the list with one.

GAMES PLAYED
Below is a list of all current Eagles and how many games they have played/started over their respective FGCU careers.

Name	Career Games Played (Started)	2018-19 Games Played (Started)
Christian Carlyle	70 (26)	23 (21)
RaySean Scott Jr.	64 (22)	12 (9)
Dinero Mercurius	54 (26)	21 (10)
Brady Ernst	52 (16)	19 (14)
Ricky Doyle	38 (16)	12 (3)
Brian Thomas	32 (5)	13 (4)
Dolan Mahoney	27 (0)	4 (0)
Schadrac Casimir	23 (23)	same
Zach Scott	23 (13)	same
Caleb Catto	23 (0)	same
Troy Baxter Jr.	21 (7)	same
Decardo Day	19 (0)	same
Haanif Cheatham	10 (10)	same
Ryan Rocuant	3 (0)	same
Kyle Hoffman	2 (0)	same

AN ATMOSPHERE UNLIKE ANY OTHER
Since 2013-14, no other program in the ASUN has come close to matching the home atmosphere created by the Eagle faithful and the Dirty Birds. FGCU has led the conference by comfortable margins in both total attendance and average attendance over the last five years. The only reason the Green and Blue aren't leading both categories this season is because league newcomer Liberty has played three more games at home. Below is a list of the top two ASUN programs in both total and average attendance over the last six seasons.
 

2018-19
Total Attendance
1.	Liberty	31,665
2.	FGCU	25,995
Average Attendance
1.	FGCU	3,249
2.	Liberty	2,879
2017-18
Total Attendance
1.	FGCU	73,114
2.	Lipscomb	22,420
Average Attendance
1.	FGCU	3,656
2.	North Florida	1,809
2016-17
Total Attendance
1.	FGCU	76,214
2.	North Florida	33,871
Average Attendance
1.	FGCU	3,979
2.	North Florida	2,258
2015-16
Total Attendance
1.	FGCU	73,373
2.	North Florida	48,554
Average Attendance
1.	FGCU	3,669
2.	North Florida	2,856
2014-15
Total Attendance
1.	FGCU	71,890
2.	North Florida	38,148
Average Attendance
1.	FGCU	4,229
2.	North Florida	2,725
2013-14
Total Attendance
1.	FGCU	73,780
2.	East Tennessee State	50,974
Average Attendance
1.	FGCU	4,340
2.	East Tennessee State	2,549

EAGLES PLAGUED BY THE INJURY BUG
FGCU continues to be bit by the injury bug this season. Leading scorer Haanif Cheatham was forced to end his season after 10 games. Ricky Doyle also suffered a career-ending injury midway through the year. The Green and Blue have also been without the services of RaySean Scott Jr., Brian Thomas, Troy Baxter Jr., and Brady Ernst at various times throughout the campaign. On top of the injuries suffered, the Eagles had already entered the season without their top five starters from last year. FGCU came into 2018-19 down Zach Johnson (35 starts last year), Brandon Goodwin (33), Christian Terrell (23), Antravious Simmons (20), and Michael Gilmore (20). Goodwin is the reigning ASUN Player of the Year and is FGCU's first NBA product, as he is currently finding success with the Denver Nuggets. Johnson was an All-ASUN First Team selection last year. He transferred to the University of Miami and is currently the second-leading scorer for the Hurricanes.

THE NEW RPI
The NCAA has developed a new ranking system to replace the RPI as the primary sorting tool for evaluating teams during the Division I men's basketball season. The new ranking system was approved in late July after months of consultation with the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, top basketball analytics experts and Google Cloud Professional Services. The NCAA Evaluation Tool, which is known as the NET, relies on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.

The NET was built to create a ranking system that was as accurate as possible while also evaluating team performance fairly. To ensure fairness, certain types of data were omitted from the model. Of key importance, game date and order were omitted to give equal importance to both early and late-season games. In addition, a cap of 10 points was applied to the winning margin to prevent rankings from encouraging unsportsmanlike play, such as needlessly running up the score in a game where the outcome was certain.

The top end of the ASUN sees Lipscomb at No. 36 and Liberty at No. 56 in the national NET rankings. The Eagles are currently ranked fifth in the league and No. 243 in the country. Jacksonville is sixth in the conference at No. 284 nationally.

MILESTONE WATCH
The Eagles are currently 202-183 as a Division I member, and they recorded win No. 200 on the road at Kennesaw State Jan. 19.

FLORIDA'S FINEST
With 23 wins and a trip to the NIT last season, the Eagles are the only Division I men's team in the state of Florida to have 20 wins and reach the postseason in the past six seasons.
 
The Eagles rank third in wins in the Sunshine State over the last seven years (since 2012-13, as of Jan. 27).
Florida- 163
Miami- 151
FGCU- 148
Florida State- 142
UCF- 116
North Florida- 113
FIU- 97
Jacksonville- 94
Bethune-Cookman- 82
FAU- 77
USF- 74
Florida A&M- 54
 
THE GROWTH OF FGCU
After starting their D-I transition with five-straight losing seasons, the Eagles have now posted six-consecutive 20-win seasons. After not finishing higher than sixth place in the ASUN the first five years, FGCU has finished no worse than a tie for second each of the past six seasons.
 
2007-08: 10-21, 6-10 ASUN (T-8th)
2008-09: 11-20, 7-13 ASUN (9th)
2009-10: 8-21, 5-15 ASUN (T-10th)
2010-11: 10-20, 7-13 ASUN (7th)
2011-12: 15-17, 8-10 ASUN (T-6th)
2012-13: 26-11, 13-5 ASUN (2nd)
2013-14: 22-13, 14-4 ASUN (T-1st)
2014-15: 22-11, 11-3 ASUN (2nd)
2015-16: 21-14, 8-6 ASUN (T-2nd)
2016-17: 26-8, 12-2 ASUN (1st)
2017-18: 23-12, 12-2 (ASUN (1st)
2018-19: 8-15, 3-5 (ASUN)
D-I Total: 202-183, 106-88 ASUN
Last 6+ Years (since 2012-13): 148-84, 73-27 ASUN

THE STRENGTH OF ALICO
FGCU boasts a 94-23 record (.803) at Alico Arena since the 2012-13 season. In ASUN games during that same stretch, the Eagles have been even more dominant, posting a 43-7 (.860) mark against league foes in the regular season since 2012-13.

EAGLES IN THE PROS
Below are some highlights of recent performances from ex-FGCU men's basketball players currently continuing their professional playing careers. (Information courtesy Sports I.T. Solutions / Eurobasket.com)

#1. Brandon Goodwin (graduated '18, plays pro in the NBA) made a basket to help the Denver Nuggets in a victory against the Philadelphia 76ers (32-18) 126-110 in the NBA on Saturday night. He has aided Denver to a 35-15 record, which is good for 0.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the Western Conference. This year Goodwin averages 1.9 ppg and 1.1 apg in 11 games.

#2. Bernard Thompson (graduated '15, plays pro in Hungary) led ZTE KK to a victory against TF Budapest 83-63 in the Hungarian A Division on Sunday night. He recorded 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes. Zalakeramia-ZTE KK (10-7) is fifth in the A Division. Thompson has posted averages of 13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, and 1.6 spg.

#3. Chase Fieler (graduated '14, plays in Belgium) was a major contributor in Oostende's 82-62 victory against BBC Bayreuth in the Basketball Champions League on Tuesday night. Fielder scored nine points in the contest. Filou Oostende (7-5) is placed fourth in group D and is on a four-game win streak. There are only two games left until the end of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season. Fieler is averaging 9.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 2.3 apg in 12 games he played so far.

#4. Demetris Morant (graduated '17, plays in Germany) scored four points in 25 minutes in the Artland Dragons' 84-64 loss to Karlsruhe in the German ProA league. He is posting averages of 13.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 1.3 bpg. He is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top summer league for players who want to play basketball overseas.

#5. Marc-Eddy Norelia (graduated '17, currently in France) scored six points in Caen's narrow 79-70 loss to SPO Rouen in the French ProB. This year, Norelia is averaging 7.2 ppg and 3.9 rpg in 16 games.

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.
 
SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
Fans can purchase or learn more about season tickets by contacting an Alico Arena Ticket Office representative over the phone at 239-590-7145 or by visiting the office Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Additional information is available on FGCUTickets.com.
 
As an added incentive, new or returning season-ticket holders who purchase seats will be entered into a contest for an FGCU jersey autographed by either the women's or men's team.
 
Season ticket seat locations are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Like in the past, Eagles Club membership may be required for certain seats, with giving levels utilized for access to better locations.
 
WE'VE GOT YOUR SEAT
Experience FGCU Basketball this season. The following ticket opportunities are on sale now:
Group Sales
Bring your group of 20 or more to an FGCU Men's or Women's Basketball game. All group tickets include an FGCU hat ($15 value), a $5 game day discount at The Boardwalk restaurant, in game group recognition and more. For more information on group outings, click HERE or call 239-590-7145.
Single Game Tickets
Single game tickets are available for all remaining home games. Discounts are available for current or former Military and Youth ages 3-15. Purchase online HERE or call 239-590-7145.

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 that time, he helped FGCU to a 156-86 record (.643 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 Sixteen. He has coached a dozen all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, and two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant. 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).
 
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.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 73 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 34 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 and women's soccer again in 2018. 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. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the Spring, 2018 and had an ASUN Conference and State of Florida best five teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport.  The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours – being recognized as one of two runner-ups for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.