For the second straight matchup, FAU Men’s basketball was able to battle through adversity multiple times throughout the game, however in the end the result remained the same as they succumbed to Tulane on the road. Despite the Owls going on a 24-12 run to take a lead in the second half after they fell behind by 8 at halftime, Tulane closed the game on a 32-17 run and ultimately went on to defeat FAU 80-65.
It was a similar story for the Owls in this one as it was against UAB, as in both games the Owls battled through inconsistencies in the first half to put together strong stretches in the second half, but in both they wound up losing. Despite the Owls finding their offensive mojo at times in the second half in both games they were equally plagued by inconsistencies and tonight it was only scoring 5 points in a 6 minute stretch during the final 10 minutes in the second half that allowed Tulane to take control and go on to win.
Although 2 different opponents in 2 different locations, the result for the Owls remained the same and now FAU will have one more game this Sunday to try to right the ship before a week long bye, that will see them off until January 26th. For FAU Coach Jakus, despite the similarities in the 2 losses, he does not see a pattern forming, rather UAB and Tulane were able to do different things during the late stretch that the Owls were unable to respond to.
“I don’t think there’s a pattern for me, necessarily. I mean, at East Carolina, we lost the lead and got it back. I think the UAB thing, the last two and a half minutes, we struggled with shot selection. That’s a home game, a completely different situation. And at the end of the day, we didn’t guard Yax. Well, Yax was 10 to 13 from the floor, and then they made some key shots, I thought tonight, some overall breakdowns that can be wrapped up in one stat, Greg Glenn had 11 assists, and the way we guarded their Joker action, specifically on the pop and the ball screen and the cut that followed it after it was not good enough. And so I think what you can’t do when you lose two tough ones like this is clump things together. You’ve got to keep basketball and basketball choices at the center, but otherwise you can get personal and attack kids right now, we need to do a better job as a staff, and our job is to explain to the kids how we can do things better, so that we get guarded the Yax wrong and had bad shot selection. Then today, I thought we just mishandled the five out action and didn’t handle the passing from the top of the key very well,” Jakus said.
In the first half of this game FAU was severely struggling, shooting only 31% from the field and 18% from beyond the arc, however in the second half the Owls were 50% from the field, but the 3 point shooting remained productive only in spurts, with FAU finishing 26% from 3 in the second half. The Owls have shown when they are on, they are one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the AAC, however the inconsistencies have left this team in a tough place at times this season.
Overall on the day FAU was led by Kaleb Glenn, who finished with 13 points and 4 rebounds and it was Glenn whose offense brought them back in the second half, using a pair of back to back triples to give FAU a 43-41 lead with 12:12 to play. Outside of Glenn, Tre Carroll finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds, while Matas Vokietaitis and Ken Evans Jr each finished with 8 a piece and diverse scoring wasn’t the issue tonight, rather getting that diversity consistently throughout the game.
The Owls had 6 players score 7 or more against Tulane and against UAB they had 5 players with 7 or more, but that hasn’t translated to the Owls getting that scoring in late game situations. According to Jakus, it comes down to belief, as tonight they passed up on far too many open looks, but with a little more confidence, Jakus believes the offense can flow.
“Yeah I was surprised. You know, the thing that happened against Memphis, and again tonight, I think against Memphis we had 19 uncontested threes and tonight we had 15. When you play a matchup zone like this, every uncontested three is a shot you have to take. And to be honest, I thought we passed up probably at least four or five wide open shots in the last 10 minutes for a hesitation. And you’re gonna have to realize that at the division one level, in a conference as good as this, if you’re open, that’s enough. And then we’ve got to take the shot and go offensive rebound and try to get 30 to 40% of our misses, so we’ll do better at that. And the kids got to believe and I think that’s probably why I started saying in this whole deal. What I said, like right now, they’ve got to believe in themselves through those missed shots, because you can’t get better than wide open shots at this level,” Jakus said.
The Owls will now have to pivot quickly, as they do not want this 2 game skid to turn into a 3 game losing streak, however they will have to adjust on the fly as Rice comes to town in just 3 days. FAU has now had 3 sequences this season where they have dropped 2 in a row and another where they dropped 3 in a row and with a week long bye following the Rice matchup, a win on Sunday would be a massive boost for this team’s confidence and will give them something to build on heading into a week of preparation.
This bye is coming at the right time for an FAU squad which is still looking to find its connectivity, but previously even with a long off-stretch in between MSU and Memphis, the Owls were still unable to fully turn a corner after a drubbing at the hands of the Tigers. The off days for this squad will be pivotal according to FAU Coach John Jakus, as it will allow them to address the off the court things that could potentially be impacting on the court play.
“Yeah, I think the league is really smart. The American to build in bye weeks. I don’t think people truly understand that. Our guys go 11 months a year now, school started up the constant pressure of what it is they go through right now. Their phones are buzzing and they’re in all kinds of crazy things, and for them to get a week, even for their own mental health, I think, is really important. It will allow them to be in the gym, do player development, sit with their thoughts, grow a little bit, and rest, rest is powerful. And so we’ll do our best to get Rice at home. And then we’ll probably take two days off, once Martin Luther King Day, and then the second day, we’ll let them catch up with their academic advisor, Jackie. And from there, we’ll get forward and get ready for North Texas,” Jakus said.
FAU has now matched their total amount of losses from last season in the middle of January, however this week off after Rice will allow them to press the reset button and find their consistency heading into the final stretch of conference play. The reset button will only work if the Owls have something to build off of and that is why it will be pivotal for FAU to wipe the slate clean of their past 2 losses and find a way to defeat Rice at home.