Owls Travel to ODU Looking to Continue Bonus Play Wins and Advance Seeding


What: Florida Atlantic (16-13, 8-8) vs. Old Dominion (11-17, 7-8)

When: Sunday, March 1st, 2020 @ 2:00 PM Eastern

Where: Chartway Arena

Series: Old Dominion owns an 8-2 edge, including a 65-55 victory in late January.


TV: None

Stream: ESPN3 *Cable Subscription Required

Radio: FoxSports 640

Live Stats: Here

ODU Team Site: Here



ODU at a Glance:

Offense - 64.6 PPG, 40% FG, 29% 3PT

Defense - 65.1 PPGA, 40% FGA, 33% 3PTA

Rebounding - 39.3 RPG Monarchs, 34.4 RPG Opponents


Notables

The defending C-USA Tournament Champions find themselves in the middle pod with FAU following a disappointing seventh season under Head Coach Jeff Jones. ODU was tabbed to finish in fourth place in the C-USA Preseason Poll.

The Monarchs opened C-USA Bonus Play with a 74-66 loss at Marshall. ODU shot well below their FG average, yet well above their 3FG average at 33% and 50% respectively. In the loss, guard Malik Curry drained a team-high 27 points for his 11th double-digit scoring day in his last 13 outings.

Earlier this season, ODU beat FAU thanks to a season-high 21 points from guard A.J Oliver II. Curry dropped just 12 points in the contest, but hauled in an impressive 7 rebounds and while dishing out 6 assists.

With those numbers, it is no surprise that Curry leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 PPG. Not far behind is guard Xavier Green at 12.2 PPG.

Senior forward Aaron Carter is the only player in C-USA that averages over 10 rebounds per game. The ODU Team Captain averages 10.3 RPG overall, 11.5 RPG vs. C-USA opponents.

As a team, ODU has the second best scoring defense in C-USA vs. conference opponents. While they are the best rebounding team in the league, that has failed to turn into points as the Monarchs rank 12th among C-USA programs in scoring when facing conference foes.



FAU at a Glance:

Offense - 70.6 PPG, 43% FG, 32% 3PT

Defense - 68.5 PPGA, 44% FGA, 33% 3PTA

Rebounding - 36.9 RPG Owls, 34.8 RPG Opponents


Notables

Dusty May's Owls begin a tough two game road trip against Old Dominion and Marshall with their second visit to Norfolk this season.

When the Owls were previously upended by the Monarchs by 10 in late January, team highs in points and rebounds from forward Jailyn Ingram were not enough to overcome a 30% FG shooting day from FAU. The Georgia native was the only Owl that scored in double-digits with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Cornelius "Scuta' Taylor, who currently leads FAU in scoring with 12 PPG, was held to just 9 points on 11 attempts, 3 of which coming via the charity stripe.

Thankfully the Owls played much better last Thursday in their home finale against UTSA, beating the Roadrunners 80-71. Blanche Ely HS guard Michael Forrest drained a season-high 21 points, which included 6 converted three-pointers. His performance, paired with the Owls dominating the battle along the boards 40-29, pushed the Owls to their second win in as many games, and a program record 14th home win this season.

In the win over UTSA, FAU hit the 80 point plateau for the first time since the 91-73 victory over Marshall at the beginning of February. The Owls have only hit that mark four times this conference season, all of which being FAU wins.

Ingram's 12 points against UTSA makes him the 14th Owl to score 1,000 career points. The historical shot came at the 1:21 in an anti-climatic fashion. Ingram drove through the lane aggressively, attempting to bank a layup off of the board when the UTSA defender made contact with the rim. The referees whistled the play dead for goaltending, counting the basket as Ingram's addition to the 1,000 point club.

🎉 THERE IT IS! 🎉

Congratulations to Jailyn Ingram (@2easyJ_) on becoming the 14th Owl in @FAU_Hoops HISTORY to hit 1,000 career points, probably the first to do so via a goaltending.

He overcame last season’s ACL injury by NEVER giving up. We couldn’t be any prouder of him! pic.twitter.com/rZuetO5Zfj

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) February 28, 2020

As a team, FAU struggles away from Boca Raton. Their 2-10 (1-6 in C-USA) road record ranks as one of the worst in the nation. But a win on Sunday will secure an upper-half seed in the C-USA Tournament.


Opening Line: FAU +5 Additional Links:

2019-2020 FAU Basketball Schedule - FAU Owl's Nest

2019-2020 FAU Basketball Season Discussion Thread - FAU Owl's Nest

As a team, FAU struggles on the away from Boca Raton. Their 2-10 (1-6 in C-USA) road record ranks as one of the worst in the nation. But a win on Sunday will secure an upper-half seed in the C-USA Tournament.


That is ugly.  If we could split these last two I would be thrilled. 🤞🏻

Despite the opening line of +5 for FAU, I have this game even…well, actually ODU by .4 points.

Let's see what type of defensive adjustments we can make and execute in the paint. This was the reason we lost earlier in the season (34-19 ODU).

In the words of historic Miami Heat announcer Eric Reid's 1996-97 season tagline, Hope they are the "Road Warriors"!

Same starters from last week's win over UTSA.

#FAU's Starting Five vs. #ODU:

G - Michael Forrest

G - Cornelius "Scuta" Taylor

G - Richardson Maitre

F - Madiaw Niang

F - Aleksandar Zecevic

Same starting lineup from the win over #UTSA last week, with Jailyn Ingram will coming off the bench again. pic.twitter.com/zjWj45EaIT

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) March 1, 2020

Wow, ODU races out to an 11 point lead just five minutes in. But Sebree and Taylor pair up to drain a some threes in back-to-back fashion to cut into the ODU advantage.

After a fast start from the Monarchs, Sebree and Taylor drain a pair of back-to-back threes for the Owls to cut into the deficit.

Leave Scuta open, and you'll get burned!#ODU leads 18-13 with 13:00 remaining in the first half. pic.twitter.com/Y8BqbTFMvb

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) March 1, 2020

Ingram is just on a different level!

After a fast start from the Monarchs, Sebree and Taylor drain a pair of back-to-back threes for the Owls to cut into the deficit.

Leave Scuta open, and you'll get burned!#ODU leads 18-13 with 13:00 remaining in the first half. pic.twitter.com/Y8BqbTFMvb

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) March 1, 2020

HALFTIME. ODU leads FAU 35-29.

HALFTIME. #ODU 35 - #FAU 29.

Owls end the half draining three of their final four FGs to pull within two possessions at the break.

Forrest is the only Owl with multiple 3FGs, helping him own a team high 8 points.

ODU's Malik Curry is already over his PPG AVG. He has 16 points.

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) March 1, 2020

Owls continuing their solid play into the second half!

This BEAUTIFUL passing sets up Richardson Maitre for the WIDE OPEN three!

Owls are in a 10-0 run over the last 3:00 of play to pull within three! pic.twitter.com/1mYhQwxJNR

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) March 1, 2020

OWLS LEAD!

How about that! It's been all FAU from the 3:00 mark of the first half.

This BEAUTIFUL passing sets up Richardson Maitre for the WIDE OPEN three!

Owls are in a 10-0 run over the last 3:00 of play to pull within three! pic.twitter.com/1mYhQwxJNR

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) March 1, 2020

ODU answers with a run of their own to retake the lead. At one point, it looked like the game was slipping away from FAU, but FAU put an end to the Monarchs' momentum with this and-one.

AND-ONE!

Ingrams spins his way out of trouble, banks his layup in while getting fouled.

That was a much needed Owls bucket as it brings an end to an 10-0 #ODU run.#FAU is down but not out, trailing 66-60 with 3:40 remaining. pic.twitter.com/KcnGfqCd3H

— FAU Owl's Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) March 1, 2020