Florida Atlantic men’s basketball was ranked fifth in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll with a total of 97 points. Graduate guard KyKy Tandy was named one of the AAC Preseason Second Team All-Conference members, announced by the league on Friday afternoon. The Owls are starting the season with new faces on the roster and coaching staff, with Head Coach John Jakus in his first season at the helm for Florida Atlantic. FAU was picked fifth in their second year in the AAC after making an appearance in the semifinals of the 2024 conference tournament and being one of the two teams representing the conference in the NCAA Tournament. Tandy is a transfer from Jacksonville State and played 32 games during the 2023-24 season. On the year, he totaled 1010 minutes with 571 points, 44 assists, 82 rebounds and 36 steals, Aaeraging 17.8 during the year in this time at Jacksonville State. Prior to Jacksonville State, he was at Xavier where he averaged 14.1 points in his career. Tandy enters the 2024-25 season with 909 career points. Florida Atlantic has been one of the nation’s best teams over the last two seasons, especially at home where the Owls have compiled a 30-1 overall record and sold out 21 consecutive games. The Owls were one of just 14 teams nationally to sell-out every home game last season, joining Auburn, Connecticut, Dayton, Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Rutgers, St. John’s, Villanova and Xavier. FAU is one of only four teams with 60 total victories over the last two seasons, joining Connecticut (68), Houston (65) and Purdue (63). 2024-25 AAC Preseason Poll 1. UAB (9) 141 2. Memphis (4) 136 3. South Florida 108 4. Wichita State 102 5. Florida Atlantic 97 6. Temple 86 7. North Texas 83 8. Charlotte 65 9. East Carolina 63 10. Tulsa 44 11. UTSA 35 Tulane 13. Rice 18 First-place votes in parentheses
