What: FAU vs Charlotte (Sandstorm Game!!!)
When: Monday, February 10th, 9:00 PM
Where: Eleanor R Baldwin Arena, Boca Raton, FL
Series: FAU Leads 9-7
TV: ESPN 2 (Potentially could be affected by Lakers/Jazz moved to ESPN at 10 PM on Monday)
Radio: Fox 640
Live Stats: Stats broadcast
Line: FAU -12.5
Ken Pom Prediction: FAU 81 Charlotte 70
Owls at a Glance
Offense – 81.0 PPG, 46.6% FG, 35.5% 3PT
Defense – 76.1 PPGA, 43.1% FGA, 38.2% 3PTA
Rebounding – 37.3 RPG Owls, 36.9RPG Opponents
FAU Notes-
FAU is back in action Monday night, taking on Charlotte from Eleanor R Baldwin Arena marking the second and final matchup between the 2 teams during the regular season. It is a quick turnaround for both squads, as both squads last played Saturday FAU defeated Tulsa, while Charlotte beat Rice.
The win marked the 3rd straight for FAU and over the past 3 games the Owls have shot consistently from beyond the arc, backed by a better than 50% assist to FG made ratio, while also continuing to win the rebound battle and over the past 2 games they have defended the perimeter as good as they have all year, holding Tulsa to under 20% from 3. The Owls have been showing improvement game by game, however over the past 3 games they have been able to excel in areas which have plagued them all year, specifically getting consistent 3 point shooting and solid perimeter defense.
The offensive consistency for FAU is reflected in the statistics, as they currently sit top 100 in the country in Effective FG % (53.7%, 62nd), Turnover % (16.1% 92nd), 3-point % (35.3%, 94th), 2-point percentage (54.3% 74th) and Assist to Field Goals made (57.4, 64th). The only 2 major offensive statistics that the Owls are outside the top 200 in the country are free throw percentage (70.7% 227th) and steal percentage (10.2% 235th) and the efficient offense that Jakus envisioned is starting to seriously come to fruition.
On the defensive side of things, the interior defense continues to be the major strength of this unit, nearing top 30 in the country, currently allowing 46.2% which is 31st and after spending a majority of AAC play in the bottom 360 in the country in allowed 3-point %, they have finally climbed out of the very bottom after back to back solid performances, now at 356th in the nation allowing 38.4%. Rebounding and 3-point percentage have been the main issues of the defense this season and both look to have seriously improved over the past few games.
Kaleb Glenn (12.3 PPG), Tre Carroll (12.0 PPG) and Baba Miller (11.1 PPG) lead the Owls in the score column, however a big part of FAU’s success over the past 3 games has been their ability to get scoring outside of those 3 and if that continues against Charlotte, the 49ers may lack the scoring to keep up. Nico Moretti, Kyky Tandy and Matas Vokietaitis have all had big scoring performances during the Owls win streak and look for one or more of them to also play a role alongside the “big 3” against Charlotte.
FAU last matched up with Charlotte on January 8th, a game which they won 75-64 and although they lost to UAB, Tulane and North Texas following that game, the Owls game-to-game improvement really was sparked in the matchup against the 49ers, as after losing the rebound battle 49-32 in a 2 point win over ECU, they dominated the glass in a wire-to-wire victory over Charlotte and that sparked an improvement on the glass that has resonated to this day. The Owls were able to win that matchup in large part due to their defense, which forced 13 turnovers and held the 49ers to under 50% from the field and under 35% from 3, while on the other end they had 5 players score 7 or more, with Tre Carroll leading with 15 points and 9 board and the efficient ball movement led to better than 50% shooting from both the field and from 3.
This matchup is one that on paper looks to be one that FAU should win handily, as although Charlotte comes into this game on a 1 game win streak, they have struggled this season getting consistent scoring and if the Owls offense performs how it did over the past 3 games, the 49ers may struggle to keep up. The game plan to success is to get that offense confidence early, finding a way to get a multi-possession lead within the first 10 minutes of the half and if they do that, alongside showing continued improvement on the perimeter defensively, they may not only win, but also cover the 12.5 point spread.
49ers at a glance
Offense – 71.2 PPG, 42.0% FG, 30.1% 3PT
Defense – 74.5 PPGA, 47.4% FGA, 30.6% 3PTA
Rebounding – 31.9 RPG Owls, 35.9RPG Opponents
Charlotte Notes
The 49ers come into this game with a bit of positivity, having defeated Rice 78-75 on Saturday afternoon, winning in thrilling fashion on a day where they honored legendary Head Coach Bobby Lutz. Outside of that game however, AAC play has been pretty bleak for the 49ers, as they have had losing streaks of 6 and 3, and they head into this game dead last in the AAC with a conference record of 2-9.
During Charlotte’s wins over Rice and USF, they have won in different ways, using their stifling defense to hold USF to under 20% from 3 and under 70 points, while against Rice they had to force a comeback and used efficient ball movement with 14 assists on 23 made field goals which translated to better than 40% shooting from beyond the arc. Outside of those 2 wins however, they have been very inconsistent, failing to score under 70 points in 7 out of their 9 conference losses, while 5 out of 9 scored 75 or more against them.
Those inconsistencies are reflected in their statistics, as offensively they are outside the top 200 in the country in Effective FG % (47.9% 299th), offensive rebound % (24.4% 329th), 3-point percentage (30% 333rd) 2-point percentage and (49.7% 228th). The strengths of the offense has been their ability to get to the free throw line and ball control, as they only turn it over 14% of the time which is 13th in the nation and they have an FTA/FGA of 44.9 which is 7th in the nation.
On the defensive side of things, they have really struggled, currently outside of the top 200 in Effective FG % allowed (53.1% 280th), Turnover percentage (14.4% 334th), 2-point percentage (56.7% 347th), and FTA/FGA (35.4, 240th). With Charlotte struggling at limiting teams from getting to the paint and the line, they can hang their hat on their perimeter defense, which is 36th in the nation, allowing teams to shoot only 30.8% from 3.
Charlotte is led on the year by Nik Graves, who is averaging 17.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and he is joined in double figures by Giancarlo Rosado (11.5 PPG 6.0 RPG), Jaeshon Thomas (10.8 PPG) and Robert Braswell (10.7 PPG). When all 4 are scoring at their best level is when the Charlotte offense is functioning at its best, however they haven’t been able to get that consistent scoring and it has left them behind the 8-ball during AAC play.
In their last game against FAU, they were able to get solid offense, converting 42% of their field goals and 31% of their triples, however their defense struggled, allowing FAU to shoot 50% from both the field and from beyond the arc. The Owls had their way with Charlotte’s defense prior to their most recent breakout and unless the 49ers make drastic defensive changes or find a way to get an offensive barrage, this game may not be close.