Jan. 10, 2009

Game Notes in PDF Format

WESTERN KENTUCKY (9-6) @ FLORIDA ATLANTIC (4-12)
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 - FAU Arena (5,000)
Boca Raton, FL - 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: Fox College Sports (FCS)

GAME #17: For the first time this season FAU (4-12; 0-4 SBC) will be playing back-to-back home games. The `homestand' begins Saturday night when the Owls host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (9-6; 3-1 SBC) at 7 p.m. ET at the FAU Arena.

THE SERIES: The Owls are beginning their third season in the Sun Belt Conference and have played a home-and-home series with Western Kentucky in each of the last two years. A Sun Belt Conference tournament game in 2007 brings the series up to five games, which WKU leads 4-1. FAU defeated WKU 78-73 on February 14, 2007 in Bowling Green, but have lost both games against the Hilltoppers at the FAU Arena, including a 88-78 setback on March 1 of last season.

TV/RADIO/INTERNET: Fox College Sports (FCS) - available via Comcast Digital Cable channel 723 and/or DirectTV channel 617 - will televise the game live. Additionally All of FAU's regular-season games (home and away) will air on live commercial radio WFTL - 640 AM with audio links available via FAUSPORTS.com. Evan Cohen (play-by-play) will call the game for WFTL on Saturday. Live scoring via GAMETRACKER and an additional video feed can also be accessed on FAUSPORTS.com.

GAME NOTES:
# Mike Jarvis (367-214 all-time) is in his 1st year as FAU head coach
# Jarvis is one of the most accomplished coaches in NCAA history, having won 100+ games at three different schools (BU, GW, STJ)
# FAU is coming off narrow 59-57 road loss to Middle Tennessee St.
# The Owls had started the season 3-1 for the first time in its 15-year Division I history but have since lost 11 of 12 and seven-straight
# FAU just finished a stretch of playing 10 of 12 on the road
# Senior G Paul Graham III is averaging 22.0 points per game in FAU's last six games
# Graham leads the team in scoring (17.4 ppg), ranks 3rd in the league and is among the NCAA's top 100 scorers
# FAU PG Carderro Nwoji has made 10 of his last 14 3-point attempts
# FAU has started a 4-guard lineup in each of the past two games
# Western Kentucky had won eight-straight SBC road games prior to losing 81-79 at FIU on Thursday
# WKU ranks No. 20 in the NCAA in 3-point shooting % (39.7)
# The Hilltoppers are 2-5 on the road, FAU is 3-1 at home
# FAU was limited to just 8 available scholarship players last time out
# WKU was 29-7 last season, won the SBC Tournament and went on to advance into the NCAA Sweet 16 as a No. 12 seed with NCAA wins over Drake and San Diego.
# FAU is 35-8 at the FAU Arena over the past three years including going 7-3 vs. the SBC at home last season.
# UP NEXT: vs. FIU Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Owls (4-12) are finishing a tough six-game stretch where they are playing five tournament teams from a year ago [UAB (NIT), Kentucky (NCAA), South Alabama (NCAA), Miami (NCAA) and Western Kentucky (NCAA)] and the preseason favorites to win the Sun Belt, Middle Tennessee State. FAU lost its 10th-striaght on the road and seventh-straight overall, dropping a 59-57 decision to Middle Tennessee State Thursday in Murfreesboro. FAU's defense held the Blue Raiders to just 22 points by halftime and led throughout, but lost at the buzzer, 59-57. The Owls should benefit from an upcoming schedule that has the team playing 5 of its next 7 at home. Senior G Paul Graham III (17.4 ppg) has emerged as one of the league's top scorers. Graham is carrying the load for a FAU squad that is limited to just eight available scholarship players. Senior PG Carderro Nwoji (9.2 ppg) has been knocking down shots from the perimeter, going 4 for 5 and scoring 10 points in the first half Thursday at MTSU. Freshmen guards and prep-school players from a year ago Shavar Richardson (10.8 ppg) and Alex Tucker (4.4 apg) are playing well in extended minutes. 6-foot-8 sophomore C Brett Royster (1.9 bpg) continues to be one of the best shot-blockers in the league, ranking 3rd among all SBC players in blocks (31) this season.

WESTERN KENTUCKY: First-year head coach Ken McDonald, who was an assistant coach at the University of Texas in each of the last four seasons, has the Hilltoppers out to a 9-6 record and 3-1 start in the Sun Belt Conference. Junior guard A.J. Slaughter scores a team-high 16.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Steffphron Pettigrew - who played just 11 minutes per game and averaged 3.8 points as a freshman last year - poured in 28 points in 37 minutes against FIU Thursday. 50% shooting and a late run were not enough for WKU to overcome a 15-point FIU second-half lead, eventually losing 81-79 to the Golden Panthers in Miami last time out. The Toppers shoot an exceptional 39.7% from the 3-point line, which ranks No. 20 nationally. WKU made national news earlier in the year, beating No. 3 Louisville 68-54 on a neutral floor in Nashville and following that win up with a 67-63 home victory over Georgia. More recently WKU soundly beat Troy (99-76) and UALR (79-47) at home before losing on road to Mississippi State (95-67) and FIU (81-79).

NEXT UP: versus FIU Thursday, January 15 at 7 p.m. ET. The game is part of FAU's `Bury the Burrow in Red' series where fans are encouraged to wear red. FREE give-ways include t-shirts, bandanas and megaphones. For tickets and more information call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.