FAU (2-1) @ Manhattan College (1-2)When: Monday, Nov. 23rd 7:00 PM EST
Where: Riverdale, NY - Draddy Gymnasium
ESPN 760 Internet Broadcast:
HereLive Video:
Manhattan Pay Per ViewLive Stats:
HereManhattan Team Site:
HereProbable Starters:
FAU01 Ray Taylor G
02 Shavar Richardson G
23 Sanchez Hughley G
40 Brett Royster F
50 DeMonte Simpson F
Manhattan10 Patrick Bouli G
14 Antoine Pearson G
24 Darryl Crawford G
11 Andrew Gabriel F
55 Laurence Jolicoeur C
The SeriesMonday night's contest will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.
Manhattan at a GlanceThe Owls will face their second opponent in a row who seeks to control game tempo within the half court offense.
“They’re a physical team, they play good defense. They don’t like to play too fast", said Coach Mike Jarvis.
Manhattan (1-2) lost at home Saturday to William & Mary, 75-70. Antoine Pearson scored a career-high 24 points while Nick Walsh added a career-best 16 points off the bench. But this was not by design.
The guard tandem of Rico Pickett (10.5 PPG) and Darryl Crawford (13.3 PPG) were the heart and soul of Manhattan's offense through he first two games. But that may change Monday night as Pickett was recently suspended by Manhattan Coach Barry Rohrssen.
Jolicoeur accounts for some low post production, but is not the first option by any means.
The fact that Crawford is by far the leading rebounder on this team indicates that the front court is lacking.
FAU at a GlanceFAU is coming off their first win on the road in twenty tries after defeating American University on Saturday 81-69. Sanchez Hughley picked up his first double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
It is no surprise that freshman point guard Ray Taylor is pacing the Owls with 18.7 PPG. But Sophomore Shavar Richardson has been impressive as well at 14.7 PPG, and team bests of 53.8% from long range, and 92.9% from the charity stripe.
Justin Davis saw his first minutes in an FAU jersey on Saturday, but picked up four fouls in just five minutes of action.
The Owls are currently outperforming opponents field percentage, three point percentage, and rebounding.
Latest Line:
TBA
Owl's Nest PredictionThe Jaspers recently lost to Princeton due to discipline on defense. This says a lot. The Tigers went to the line 20 times in the second half en route to a 61-54 win where they shot just 6 of 21 (28.6%) during the period.
Granted, the Owls don't play the methodical offensive style of "every second counts but score within the last 2 seconds of the shot clock" brand of ball that Princeton does. Quite the contrary.
This game could get ugly in the second half given the fact that Manhattan will likely only play a seven-deep roster. They just may have to sub guys in to hack, and keep starters alive late, given FAU's preferred tempo.
The potential loss of guard Rico Pickett to suspension is a sizable blow to Manhattan's offensive production.
Owls -5
