FORT MYERS, Fla. – If you spend a few minutes around FGCU men's basketball head coach Pat Chambers, you're likely to hear about defense and rebounding sooner rather than later.
 
Emphasizing the importance of playing quality defense and crashing the glass are hallmarks of any Chambers-led basketball team, and heading into his fifth year in Fort Myers, that foundation is firmly set in stone.
 
"I think the first two years you're trying to pour the cement and lay the foundation of the identity of what you want FGCU to be," Chambers told David Wasson on the Mic Check Sports podcast. "You want a little bit of Andy Enfield with a little bit of Joe Dooley, right? And I want a little bit of Jay Wright with a little bit of my old college coach Herb McGee. So you're trying to package all that together, and I think we've created an identity. I think we defend, we rebound, we try to push pace."
 
The Eagles led the ASUN in field goal percentage defense for the second consecutive season, holding opponents to 44.7% shooting from the field in 2025-26 and 42.5% in 2024-25. FGCU will strive to lead the conference in that stat category for the third consecutive season in 2026-27; it would mark the first time since the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons that the Eagles have led the ASUN in field goal defense three years in a row.
 
Those three seasons marked the only time prior to the Chambers era that FGCU led the ASUN in field goal percentage defense. Those seasons also featured the Eagles' last two trips to the NCAA Tournament and the most recent trip to the NIT.
 
For the first time in the Chambers era, FGCU also led the ASUN in rebounds per game, grabbing a conference-best 36.91 rebounds per game. The Eagles had previously topped the conference in rebound margin (+3.5) in the 2024-25 campaign, but the total rebounds per game came in Chambers' fourth year.
 
The defense and rebounding that Chambers requires led to the first time FGCU won multiple games in the ASUN Tournament since the 2018 NIT season and the first ASUN semifinal appearance since 2021. The Eagles got hot in February behind a six-game home winning streak, its longest home ASUN winning streak since 2019 and longest overall home winning streak since 2022. FGCU capped off the home campaign with an electric overtime win over eventual league co-champion Central Arkansas on senior day, securing the 11th win at Alico Arena in 2025-26.
 
The Eagles also won 11 games at home in 2024-25, recording back-to-back double-digit home wins since 2017-18 and 2018-19, firmly cementing the foundation for what lies ahead.
 
"We learned," Chambers said. "Two years ago, (we) learned, finished (third). Last year, (we) learned how to win in the ASUN Tournament. Now we've had these experiences, got (eight) guys back. Let's see if we can take the next step."
 
Season tickets for FGCU men's and women's basketball are on sale now.
 
For more information on FGCU men's basketball, follow @FGCU_MBB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.