FAU hosts potent Tulane offense in The Burrow What : FAU (21-7, 11-4 AAC) vs Tulane (13-14, 4-11 AAC) When : Sat. March 2nd, @ 12:00 PM EST Where : The Burrow – Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena Series : Green Wave lead 5-1 all-time against the Owls. FAU won the last matchup earlier this season. TV : ESPNU Radio : FoxSports 640 Live Stats : Here Line : FAU TBA FAU at a Glance Offense – 83 PPG, 48% FG, 36% 3PT Defense – 73 PPGA, 44% FGA, 33% 3PTA Rebounding – 38 RPG Owls, 35 RPG Opponents Owl Notables Getting plenty of rest with the bye week, expect FAU to feel more rejuvenated to close out their last three games of the regular season. FAU currently sits at the second spot of the AAC standings with an 11-4 record in conference play. Clinching a top-four spot would grant them an automatic bye to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, meaning that beating Tulane is an absolute must for them to do so as well as their next two games. Maintaining the strong performances of Vlad Goldin (pictured below via Bob Markey II) should be a priority. Recently being named to the AAC’s Weekly Honor Roll, he now has six games this season scoring 20 or more points after beginning the year with none to his name. He is on a three-game streak of doing so, averaging 22 points, five rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on 76.7% shooting from the field during this stretch. Having Johnell Davis return to form would be key to the Owls taking down Tulane on Saturday afternoon. He is on a 21-game streak of scoring in double-digits, but putting up 20 points on 40% shooting from the field leaves some room for improvement for a player who is more than capable of making his shots more efficiently. Beating Tulane in the paint could also play a factor. They scored 40 or more points in the paint for the third straight game when they played Memphis last Sunday, indicating that they would continue emphasizing that part of their game against the Green Wave. FAU travels to Texas for their road finale against North Texas on March 6th at 8:00 PM EST. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+. Tulane Team Site : Here Tulane at a Glance Offense – 83 PPG, 48% FG, 36% 3PT Defense – 80 PPGA, 43% FGA, 34% 3PTA Rebounding – 33 RPG, 40 RPG Opponents Green Wave Notables Tulane hasn’t been the same team they were throughout the first half of the season. Being 12-6 at one point, they have lost eight of their last nine contests as they are currently on a five-game losing streak. Opponents have a combined winning margin of 46 points, meaning that the Green Wave have been losing by 5.1 points throughout this stretch. Nonetheless, their offense remains a threat as they are still a top 20 scoring team in the country. Kevin Cross is the heart of Tulane’s offense, leading the team in points with 17.6, rebounds with 7.3, and assists with 4.6. Perimeter shooting is still prevalent in Tulane’s offense, especially from Jaylen Forbes with 66 three-pointers (tied-126th nationally), Kolby King with 39, and Sion James with 38. Free throws are a key strength for the Green Wave as well, averaging the second-most made attempts nationwide with 19.7 per game. They are also third in free throws attempted with 26.7, and 88th in free-throw percentage with 73.8%. Exploiting the Green Wave’s defense should be one of the top objectives for FAU on Saturday. They have the 12th-worst scoring defense in the nation at 80 points allowed per game. Their defensive issues have shined even brighter during their recent nine-game stretch, giving up 82.2 points on average as even a solid performance in that area of the game would do them a lot of good. Following this matchup, Tulane remains in Florida as they head up to Tampa to face USF on March 5th at 7:00 PM EST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
