What: FAU vs Tulsa
When: Saturday, February 8th, 12:00 PM
Where: Reynolds Center, Tulsa Oklahoma
Series: Tied 1-1
TV: ESPN +
Radio: Fox 640
Live Stats: Stats broadcast
Line: TBA
Ken Pom Prediction: FAU 78 Tulsa 73
Owls at a Glance
Offense – 81.1 PPG, 46.5% FG, 35.1% 3PT
Defense – 77.0 PPGA, 43.6% FGA, 39.2% 3PTA
Rebounding – 37.2 RPG Owls, 36.9RPG Opponents
FAU Notes
After 5 days off, FAU MBB will be back in action on Saturday as the Owls head to Oklahoma for a battle with Tulsa. The Owls come into this matchup on the heels of 2 of their best victories of the season which saw them beat AAC foes UTSA and USF by 20 points each.
Now heading on the road, FAU will be looking to continue that success against a Tulsa team which although comes in with an under .500 record, has only lost 3 AAC games by 10 or more points. Nevertheless, Ken Pom is predicting a 6 point win and should FAU indeed come out victorious it would match their longest win streak off the season when they defeated FIU, Texas State and Jacksonville consecutively in early December.
Things have been clicking in a major way on both ends of the court for FAU, as over the past 2 games they have shot a combined 46% from beyond the arc, while assisting on 63% of their made field goals and they won the overall rebound battle 81-62. Although their 3 point percentage struggled against UTSA, allowing 46%, they held USF to 33% and game to game improvement is something that has helped this team improve on their struggles during AAC play.
Offensively, the Owls have been improving consistently during AAC play and currently 71st in the nation in Effective FG %, 53.4%, 80th in 2 point %, 54.2%, 74th assist to field goals made 56.8 and are 103rd in turnover percentage, 16.3% and 110th in 3-point % at 34.9%. The struggles offensively are really starting to shrink down as the only stats they are outside of the top 200 in are Free Throw Percentage and Steal Percentage and their offensive rebound percentage has continued to climb, now at 30.3% which is 177th.
Defensively, the biggest strength of the defense is their interior defense, allowing a 2% of 46.5% which is 37th in the nation and a majority of their struggles this season have also begun to improve. The lone red flag for the defense remains the 3-point %, as they allow teams to shoot 39.5% which is 361st, and although their allowed offensive rebounding percentage still is outside the top 200, it is climbing now at 32% which is 277th.
FAU got back to scoring in droves over the past 2 games, getting 9 players in double figures and that is something they will look to continue heading on the road to take on Tulsa. Overall on the year, Kaleb Glenn and Tre Carroll sit atop the score column, now at 12.4 and 12.3 points per game respectively, while Baba Miller averages 10.9 points per game rounding out the double figure scorers, however over the past 2 games, Nico Moretti, Kyky Tandy, Leland Walker, Matas Vokietaitis and Ken Evans Jr all contributed and heading into Tulsa, alongside the “Big 3” they will need to also get contributions from one of those 5.
Tulsa has had their fair share of struggles this season, lacking consistency on both ends of the court and a true go-to scorer, however their scrappiness has allowed for them to stay in games and the Owls will need to come out of the gates with energy as they did against USF to avoid getting into a back and forth battle with the Golden Hurricane. If FAU is able to get scoring similar to how they did against USF and UTSA they will be in a solid position to defeat Tulsa and if they continue to improve their perimeter defense alongside that scoring, this game may not be close.
Golden Hurricane at a glance:
Offense – 73.1 PPG, 43.1% FG, 32.8% 3PT
Defense – 73.7 PPGA, 44.5% FGA, 34.4% 3PTA
Rebounding – 37.7 RPG Owls, 36.7 RPG Opponents
Tulsa Notes:
The Golden Hurricane have struggled so far this season, checking in with a record of 9-14 and they will head into their matchup with FAU on a 3 game losing streak. Year 3 has not gone as planned for Erik Konkol and Co, as their non-con scheduled featured losses to Little Rock, Missouri State, Georgia State and Southern and while they defeated UTSA, Charlotte and Wichita State in AAC play, they have suffered 20 point losses to Memphis and UAB.
It has been a struggle to score so far for Tulsa as in 8 out of their last 10 games they have failed to reach 80 points, however on the flip side of things they have allowed 4 out of those 10 opponents to reach 80 and 6 have reached 75 or more. The inconsistencies on both ends of the court have left Tulsa in a tough position as they have will-power to fight and stay in games, but with the lack of consistent scoring, those fights are often futile.
The issues for Tulsa are reflected in the statistics, as they are outside the top 200 in the country in numerous statistics from Effective Fg%, 3-point %, and FT%, while they are outside the top 150 in Turnover %, Offensive rebound % and 2-point %. The lone statistical metrics Tulsa is top 150 in the country in are Non-Steal TO% (99th), 3PA/FGA (76th), and Assists to FGM (129th).
It hasn’t been much better on the defensive side of things, as they only force a turnover 15.2% of the time which is 320th and teams grab an offensive rebound against them 30.9% of the time which is 232nd. There are some strengths for this defense and it has allowed them to stay in games, as they allow teams to shoot 33.3% from 3 which is 162nd and on the interior teams convert against them 50.1% of the time which is 152nd and both are under the NCAA average, while the biggest strength of Tulsa is their ability to frustrate opposing offenses, only allowing an A/FGM of 46.7 which is 63rd in the nation.
On the year, Tulsa is led by Dwon Odom, a 6’2 Senior G who is averaging 13.7 points and 5.2 rebound a game, however he is joined in double figures by Keaston Willis who is averaging 13 points a game, Tyshawn Archie who is averaging 10 and during 6 games of action Jared Garcia is averaging 11.7 points and 4.4 rebounds. Garcia is the wildcard for Tulsa, as after originally deciding to redshirt last season, he has found a way to contribute to this squad thanks to the Juco ruling allowing an extra year of eligibility and the 6 ‘8 forward is someone to keep an eye on in this matchup.
Overall in this matchup, it is going to be an uphill battle for the Golden Hurricane, as FAU heads into this game red-hot and succeeding in areas which Tulsa has struggled including defending the 3-point arc and rebounding. If Tulsa is going to pull off the upset in this one they will need an abundance of scoring early, which if they can get that combined with solid perimeter defense, it would open the door for a potential upset, however that would be easier said than done.