Troy (14-10) @ FAU (5-19) Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009 7:00 PM EST * *will tip 30 minutes after the women’s game concludes. MEDIA COVERAGE 640 AM with audio links available via FAUSPORTS.com. Evan Cohen (play-by-play) will call the games for WFTL on Saturday. Live scoring via GAMETRACKER and an additional video feed can also be accessed on FAUSPORTS.com. Radio Link : Radio Broadcast: FOX 640AM – Troy vs FAU 7:00PM GAME PROMOTIONS Free T-Shirts will be offered to the first 100 fans in attendance, and a free hotdog, popcorn or nachos will be available for the first 100 students. THE SERIES FAU and Troy have met 22 times. Troy leads the all-time series 16-6, which included a 94-87 victory over the Owls earlier this season at the Trojan Arena in Troy . FAU has won 4 of the last 6 against Troy . FAU senior guard Paul Graham III has enjoyed some of his best collegiate games against the Trojans, scoring a then-career-high 27 points at Troy in a 99-93 FAU win last season on 9-of-15 shooting. Graham – one of the league’s top scorers (393 points) – poured in 28 points and made five 3s when the two teams met in December. TROY AT A GLANCE The Trojans are the hottest team in the Sun Belt, having won 7-straight. 27th-year head coach Don Maestri has the Trojans in second place in the Sun Belt Conference East standings behind Western Kentucky – surprising considering Troy was picked to finish last in the division. A big reason for Troy ‘s success is its scoring output (77.7 points per game). Maestri is receiving double-figures in scoring from three different players and the team makes nearly nine 3s per night. Troy began the year 0-7 on the road but has rebounded to win 4 of 6 versus the SBC away from home, including recent wins at South Alabama (94-70), at ULM (71-70), at UALR (63-58) and at North Texas (77-69). Junior guards Brandon Hazzard (14.6 ppg) and Richard Delk (14.2 ppg) lead the team in scoring and junior Michael Vogler is passing out 5.3 assist per game – a league high. FAU AT A GLANCE The Owls are 4-5 at home, including winning last Saturday night 63-47 over Louisiana-Lafayette. FAU began the year playing 10 of 13 away from home and have not been able to compensate for a lack of depth, as just eight scholarship players suit up for first-year head coach Mike Jarvis. Despite the Owls record, the team is competitive night-in and night-out, thanks largely to Paul Graham III’s league-best 18.5 points per game in conference play. Additionally FAU has seen rookie guard Alex Tucker emerge as one of the league’s best distributors. Tucker’s 11 assists Saturday at UNO equaled a single-game school record and with two more helpers he will establish a new freshmen record at FAU. Sophomore Brett Royster has swatted 53 shots this season, ranking him No. 35 in the NCAA in blocks entering the week. Saturday’s loss to UNO saw FAU turn the ball over 19 times, uncharacteristic for a Jarvis’ coached squad that came into the week as one of the nation’s best teams in limiting its turnovers (12.2 pg). PROBABLE STARTERS Troy 24 Michael Vogler G 6-1 168 14 Brandon Hazzard G 6-2 195 33 Richard Delk G/F 6-4 180 20 Antywan Jones F 6-6 190 13 Tom Jervis C 7-0 230 Florida Atlantic 1 Shavar Richardson G 6-2 165 5 Alex Tucker G 5-11 160 12 Carderro Nwoji G 5-11 3 Chris Watson F 6-6 210 40 Brett Royster F 6-8 220 LATEST LINE FAU -1 OWL NEST PREDICTION Oddsmakers continue to pick FAU at home despite faltering on the majority of those picks. It will take a stellar performance from the Owls to keep this game in check; nonethless win it. Staying out of second half foul trouble, a lack of depth, and good perimeter defense from the Trojans will prove a major challenge for FAU against a Troy team that is clicking on on cylinders. They are a very well rounded ball club with fairly equal rebounding as well as scoring from both starters and reserves. The keys for an FAU win will be for scoring to remain consistent across guard play, and to minimize turnovers given the Trojans up beat tempo. Graham, Nwoji, and Richardson all need to have solid nights scoring. If one of them falters into the 20-25% range again, FAU’s half court offense, despite Tucker’s tastey dishes will not be enough to keep up with the consitency of the Trojans. Troy – 5
