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Game Notes: FGCU vs. North Florida
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Season Stats: FGCU | North Florida
ASUN: Standings | Scoreboard

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Off to the hottest start in the program's Division I history, the FGCU men's basketball team (12-4 overall, 2-1 ASUN) returns to The Nest on Saturday night to take on the North Florida Ospreys (7-9, 1-2). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Alico Arena, and the game is available for viewing on ESPN+.

FGCU's 12-4 record through 16 games eclipses the 11-5 starts to the 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2021-22 seasons. The Green & Blue began Division I play in 2007-08, and its 15-1 record as an independent Division II team in 2003-04 was the program's best overall start to a season. The then-Division II Eagles also started the 2004-05 season 12-4.
 
The Eagles are playing their fourth game in seven days, having begun the ASUN Conference journey last Saturday with a thrilling comeback home victory against Jacksonville. The Green & Blue again engineered a comeback to force overtime before downing Central Arkansas on the road Tuesday night, but fell 61-59 Thursday night at Austin Peay.
 
Alico Arena has been a safe haven for the Green & Blue, which has won all five of its home games this season and carries an 11-game home win streak that dates to the 2021-22 season. FGCU is 12-5 against North Florida at home all-time as part of a 19-16 record. The Ospreys won the most recent game in the series, though, claiming a 70-64 victory on Feb. 19, 2022 to split the season series. FGCU's Kevin Samuel notched his 13^th double-double of the season in the loss, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
 
North Florida is coming off an 89-86 home victory Thursday against Kennesaw State. Redshirt junior guard Jose Placer canned a 30-foot 3-pointer with less than two seconds remaining to seal the Ospreys' first ASUN win of the season. Placer made a season-high 10 triples in the game and dropped a season-high 32 points.
 
Junior guard Jarius Hicklen delivers a team-high 14.3 points per game for North Flroida, while senior guard/forward Carter Hendricksen adds 13.9 points and Placer scores 12.5 points per contest. Hendricksen leads the Ospreys with 6.2 rebounds per game, and sophomore forward Jaydn Parker adds 5.9 boards per outing.
 
North Florida endured one of the stronger mid-major non-conference schedules in the country, facing then-No. 2 Gonzaga, then-No. 15 Kentucky and then-No. 1 Houston. Those three high-profile games all resulted in UNF losses by an average margin of 38.3 points.
 
Junior forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS), who is the defending ASUN Player of the Week, starred again Thursday night in the narrow setback against Austin Peay. Anderson dropped his ASUN-leading fifth double-double of the season, leading all scorers with 14 points and all rebounders with 12 boards. Anderson's five double-doubles rank 36th nationally.
 
Anderson leads the Eagles with 7.8 rebounds per game, and is second in scoring to the 13.6 points per game from senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue). Junior guard Chase Johnston (Boca Raton, Fla./Westminster Academy/Stetson), who eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark against Central Arkansas, adds 11.9 points and leads FGCU with 30 steals -- which is second in the ASUN and 52nd nationally.

Saturday night is a GREEN OUT at Alico Arena, and it is also Superhero Night -- fans who dress up as their favorite superhero can win prizes!
 
For complete coverage of FGCU men's basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU men's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.  
 
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
COACH CHAMBERS
Pat Chambers was officially introduced as the fifth FGCU men's basketball head coach in March 2022 bringing a wealth of experience in college basketball highlighted by head coaching stints at Penn State and Boston University. Chambers spent nine years leading the Penn State (2011-20) program and two years as head coach at Boston University (2009-11). He has 202 career victories in that span including four 20-plus win seasons. Part of his career as a head coach was highlighted by leading the Nittany Lions to a No. 9 national ranking in 2019-20 which tied the program's best-ever ranking set in 1996. Prior to becoming a head coach, he spent five seasons as part of the Villanova staff helping the Wildcats to a Final Four (2009), two Elite Eight, and three Sweet Sixteen appearances during his tenure.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.    
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 25 in 2022-23) beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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.
 
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