What: FAU vs Indiana State- Season Opener
When: Monday, November 4th, 7:30 PM
Where: John Wooden Family Fieldhouse, Xenia Ohio- Neutral Court
Series: First matchup ever in Men’s Basketball
TV: Fox
Radio: Fox Sports 640
Line:BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Owls -6; over/under is 155.5
FAU Notes
The official beginning of the John Jakus era at FAU commences at 7 pm on Monday as the Owls face off against Indiana State on a neutral court at the John Wooden Family Field house in Xenia, Ohio.
The Owls split their 2 preseason matchups, dominating D2 Saint Leo at home 104-53 and suffering a 102-70 loss on the road to Auburn. In both of those matchups, the Owls struggled to shoot it from deep, finishing 3 of 16 against Auburn and 4 of 20 against Saint Leo and failing to attempt 30 in either, something John Jakus made clear was a goal of this team.
The lack of shooting cost FAU against Auburn, however the Tigers were applying pressure and forced 19 turnovers. Although the Owls forced 10 of their own, Auburn was able to capitalize at a higher rate out scoring FAU off turnovers 26-9 and also tripled them up in second chance points 15-5. With a lack of shooting the Owls are already behind the 8 ball however against a quality opponent, getting outscored in transition and off turnovers is something that is extremely hard to overcome.
Ultimately, outcomes aside, the Owls had a lot of good that same out of their 2 scrimmages, specifically their paint presence. The Owls dominated an undersized Saint Leo squad, outscoring them 64-16 in the paint while against Auburn, a team which has recently had their way with opponents in the paint, the Owls held their own.
Auburn only outscored FAU 36-32 in the paint, and FAU limited Johni Broome to 5/11 from the field, someone who John Jakus praised heading into the matchup. Offensively, although the Owls were limited, Matas Vokietaitis and Mantas Kocanas finished 3/6 from the field with 16 points and 8 rebounds and the Owls only lost the rebound battle overall 41-36.
Against Auburn, a key piece of the Owls big win against Saint Leo, Tre Carroll who scored a career high 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting, was out with an undisclosed injury suffered during practice. Although he may have not moved the needle enough to push the Owls to a victory against the Tigers, his leadership is unmatched and in the Saint Leo scrimmage it looked as if his role had expanded and offensive ability had developed during the offseason.
Now heading into Indiana State, Carroll remains a gametime decision, as early in the season John Jakus doesn’t want to rush back his players from injury and risk them being unavailable later in the year.
“Tre tweaked something in practice so as a staff we made the decision to rest him for Auburn”, said Head Coach John Jakus. “As much as we wanted him to play against Auburn, protecting him comes first and it will be a game time decision for Monday,” Jakus said.
Although the Owls may potentially be without Carroll in this one, the Owls have a path to victory regardless, as they face off against an Indiana State squad which has undergone serious changes following the departure of Josh Schertz.
Under Josh Schertz last season, the Sycamores were a very diverse squad who were led by a trio of their star big man Robbie Avila who averaged 17.4 points per game, and guards Ryan Conwell and Isaiah Swope who chipped in 16.6 and 15.9 points respectively. All 3 of them have departed, with Avila and Swope headed to Saint Louis with Schertz and Conwell off to Xavier, while their other 2 players from last year who averaged double figures Jayson Kent and Julian Larry transferred to Texas.
The Sycamores made moves to bring in scoring, however Robbie Avila is extremely hard to replace and his role will taken over by Central Michigan transfer Markus Harding, who averaged 10.2 PPG and 5.2 RPG last season and he is the only player on the roster 6’10 or taller who has significant playing experience. With only one paint threat in Harding, this looks to be a game where the Owls have a significant advantage down low, as Vokietaitis and Kocanas have showed no issue adjusting to the US style of basketball during the first 2 scrimmages, while Baba Miller and Kaleb Glenn also have looked comfortable in the preseason.
The Owls have the clear advantage down low in this one, however Indiana State brings in 3 experienced transfer guards in Jahni Summers, Tyran Cook, and Samage Steel, all who averaged 35% or better from 3 last season. With the Owls struggles from deep in their preseason scrimmages and Indiana State’s lack of height, the Sycamores may look to try to outshoot the Owls in this one, which is why it is paramount FAU finds their shot and get on track to reach Jakus’s goal of 30 attempted 3’s per game.
Ultimately, the Owls can find a way to win this game with their height advantage, however shooting the ball from 3 effectively is something this team will have to do if they want to run their fast paced, high scoring offense the way that Jakus envisioned coming into the season. Indiana State was a solid defensive team under Schertz and new Head Coach Matthew Graves comes from his coaching tree, so they will look to find ways to take away the Owls paint chances and force them to beat them from deep, especially if they start slow from 3.
It will be interesting to see what the first game of the new era has in store, especially facing off against an Indiana State squad who was right on the bubble of an NCAA tournament birth last season and will be looking to get right back there. Although on paper it looks like FAU may have an advantage in this one, the Sycamores will be coming into this matchup looking to prove, like the Owls, that they are here to stay and that the previous success was not a fluke.
On a neutral court however, there will be no atmosphere in play, which means this game will come down to which squad has unified faster and can make adjustments on the fly if needed. The Owls are a unified bunch already, and if they can find a way to hit from 3 more consistently in this one, or find a way to dominate in the paint if not, this is a winnable game and one that could set them off to a fast start.
Indiana State Notes
The Sycamores come into year 1 of the Matthew Graves era with a pretty much brand new squad, however Graves is a former assistant on Schertz’s staff who will be looking to retain the culture with a new group of guys.
With the departure of the top 5 scorers from last season, the Sycamores had to work diligently in the portal and through the HS recruiting ranks to rebuild this roster as they look to remain in the NCAA tournament conversation. It’s impossible to directly replace players who departed, however the Sycamores brought in a ton of talent from a variety of levels of basketball.
Markus Harding a 6’10 senior C transfers in from Central Michigan looking to fill the Avila sized hole down low and although he’s not a carbon copy of Avila, he brings in a versatile skill set which the sycamores will look to utilize in executing a diverse offense. Harding averaged 10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game last season, also improving his 3 point percentage from 19% his rookie season, to 30% last season.
Jahni Summers a 6’6 G/F transfers in from Coffeyville, a Juco in Kansas, where he dominated last season, winning KJCCC freshman of the year with averages of 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists, while shooting 45% from the field and 37% from 3. Tyran Cook a 6’6 G transfers in off a freshman season at VMI where he was a focal point for the Keydets, starting 23 games and averaging 12.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 41% shooting from the field and 34% from 3. Both Summers and Cook are coming off solid freshman seasons, albeit at different levels and could be potential building blocks for this Sycamore squad as they look to turn this program into a consistent winner.
While Summers and Cook are both sophomores, Samage Teel joins Harding as the veteran transfers of the bunch, and will look to replace some of the lost leadership alongside on court production. The 6’2 senior G transfers in from Presbyterian off a junior year where he started 21 games with averages of 13.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, shooting 44% from the field and 41.5% from 3.
Jaden Daughtry, Aaron Gray and Derek Vorst are the only returners on this sycamore roster who played last season and all 3 are looking to make significant jumps in their game to potentially make an impact for the sycamores this season. Gray and Daughtry are both 6’7 forwards who are solid defenders, however in limited action last season they we’re unable to make an impact offensively. The player to watch out for out of that bunch is Derek Vorst, who played the most out of them last season, appearing in 21 games, averaging 1.7 points and 1.4 rebounds per game last season, however the 6 ’10 big man hit at a 30% rate from 3. With Harding being the only other player on the roster 6 ’10 or taller, there is room for Vorst to contribute and we’ll see if Graves and company have put work in developing his game this season to potentially warrant a bigger role.
It’s unknown what to expect out of this ISU squad which brings back even less scoring than FAU did from last season, however with Graves coming off of the Schertz squad you can expect a team that will play tough defense and look to capitalize off Owl mistakes offensively. All of the transfers that they brought in who on paper look to be feature players all were fairly solid from 3 at their previous stops, so this could potentially be a squad that looks to cash in from deep a fair amount, especially considering they only have 2 players 6’10 or taller, and only one in Harding with significant playing experience.
If FAU is struggling to shoot from deep as they did during their scrimmages, that opens up the door from this ISU squad who brings in shooting, however they will have to figure out how to limit the Owls done low, something even Auburn was unable to do at times during the scrimmage. This game looks to be a battle between 2 strong mid-majors, however we shall see which one has gelled faster and can come out and steal a win in the season opener.