John Jakus mentioned after the game today that changes were made so the team could be held accountable, and those changes worked, as the Owls snapped their 3-game losing streak on the road against USF Sunday afternoon. The Owls came out of the gates with energy, jumping out to a 9 point halftime lead, before eventually extending that to double digits in the second half and although USF made late runs, FAU had answers to them and it led to a 69-63 victory.
For the first time since January 5th Jakus opted to make a change in the starting lineup, sending Kaleb Glenn into the starting lineup for the first time this season in exchange for Kyky Tandy, while Matas Vokietaitis rejoined the starting 5 for Tre Carroll. The Owls were lacking paint rebounding over the past 3 games and with USF having a formidable big man in Jamille Reynolds, Jakus opted to go with size and it paid off, with FAU winning the rebound battle 45-37 while limiting USF to 10 of 22 on layups and 36% on 2-point field goals overall.
The changes gave FAU a defensive boost throughout, however it also gave them an early scoring jolt on the road, as they set the tone right out of the gates by taking an 11-4 lead heading into the first media timeout. Although the scoring boost was important and Jakus credits the starters for leading that charge, the Owls got that early scoring against Memphis and it didn’t translate to victory, but what led them to the win today was their effort in the paint and that is something the starting 5 set the tone with early according to Jakus.
“I didn’t know who it was going to be, but I knew that something was going to happen. I thought we’d gone through so much to win five in a row, and not only were we sharing the basketball in such a beautiful way, I think averaging between 17 and 23 assists on that five game winning streak, I thought the defense had drastically improved also, and then we dropped three and it just hits a certain wall where something’s got to be done or said, and that’s my job as a head coach. It’s not because I don’t love them, it’s actually because I do love them. We had to stop the losing streak, and we had to make some tough decisions. I would say it helped a little bit in the offense early on, as far as the game plan and using the bigs, you can see 15, 17, and 14 across the front line. But I would say the defense and rebounding and getting out rebounded for a couple games. I was just done watching that, so you’re going to rebound or you’re not going to play. And these guys responded, I’m thankful for that,” Jakus said.
Although FAU led wire to wire in this one, there was late drama as USF was able to close it to single digits during the final minutes amidst multiple FAU scoring droughts. Over the past 2 games, FAU has lacked the second half offense to respond to opponents runs and although their offense stalled at times, the Owls got to the free throw line offensively, while continually making things difficult for USF on the other end and their effort was enough to seal the deal.
FAU assisted on 10 of their 22 made field goals on the day and in the second half they assisted on better than 50% of their shots, getting the ball movement necessary to get the best looks possible. At times those looks weren’t great and it led to multiple minute long scoring droughts, however the Owls made a concerted effort to get to the line and they capitalized by hitting 16 out of 20 free throws on the day.
Baba Miller led FAU on the day with 17 points and 8 rebounds, however he was joined in double figures by Kaleb Glenn with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Matas Vokietaitis with 14 points and 8 boards and Leland Walker who scored 12 points, also adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists. According to Miller, the Owls’ second half response and improved offense came from better decisions overall, specifically in the second half where they found a way to attack USF who was in the bonus.
“I feel like we just were able to recover from whatever they were doing and make smart decisions on offense. I feel like what Coach said about Nico making really good reads in the pick and roll, hitting Matas and drawing fouls because they were in the bonus was good for us,” Miller said.
After a 3 game losing streak sent FAU spiraling, today’s game saw the Owls get back to doing a lot of the good things that helped them in their 5 game win streak, including ball movement, rebounding and an ability to balance 3 point shooting and attacking the basket. The effort on the defensive end was there from the first tip, as for the second time this season they suffocated the USF offense at times and although the offense wasn’t perfect for 40 minutes, the defense was pretty close to perfection.
It could have been easy for the Owls to head on the road today and continue their freefall, however they bounced back and found it within themselves to put the season back on the right track with only 2 games before the AAC tournament. According to Kaleb Glenn, this win takes a much needed weight off their shoulders and it’s a win that can hopefully start a trend heading into march.
“It’s a good win for us, especially to start off March. We want to have a good March and win the conference tournament in a couple of weeks and I think this is a big step for it,” Glenn said.
The Owls will face off against UAB next Thursday in Birmingham before returning home for senior day against ECU next Sunday and that leaves limited time for adjustments prior to the AAC tournament. According to Jakus, the team has shifted their mindset heading into March and they are preparing with the idea that they will have to beat many teams in the conference in order to reach their goal of making the NCAA tournament.
“We came up with a little theme for March, as far as how we’re going to handle some things privately amongst the group and inside of that, we got to reset, and we were zero and zero starting today. And there’s going to be some things that they’re going to be held accountable to. And I’m just so thankful that they let us do it. They understand that accountability is because we care, not because we don’t. And so we saw some steps forward there, and it’s a big week to go. Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, like that one on the road in the middle. It’s a really good UAB team. We’re gonna have to get better. But the truth is nothing good is gonna happen if we don’t get through that conference tournament. So we’re gonna play everybody anyway. So this week is a big setup for that,” Jakus said.