Feb. 19, 2008

Game Notes in PDF Format

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (8-16) @ FLORIDA ATLANTIC (12-15)
February 20, 2008 - The FAU Arena (5,000)
Boca Raton, Florida - 7:00 p.m.
Live Audio

GAME #28: Florida Atlantic (12-15; 6-8 SBC) returns to Boca Raton, facing Sun Belt Conference and local rivals Florida International (8-16; 5-9 SBC) in the FAU Arena Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game is part of FAU's "Bury the Burrow in Red Part III - The Series," in which fans wearing red will have the opportunity to win a number of special prizes including a $1,000 Nike apparel spree. The Owls are 9-2 at home this season and have won six-straight at the "The Burrow." The match-up has postseason tournament implications, with both teams needing a strong finish to host its first round Sun Belt Conference Tournament game on March 5.

THE SERIES: FIU leads the all-time series 12-6, but the Golden Panthers have lost 5-of-8 against FAU in Boca Raton. The two teams have been annual opponents since 1991-92. The Owls will be looking to avenge a 69-58 loss to the Golden Panthers earlier this season in Miami. The loss dropped FAU to 0-4 in conference play at the time, but the Owls have been playing much better of late and will be looking to add to its current one-game advantage over FIU in the league standings. Florida Atlantic has won three straight against FIU at "The Burrow," including a 91-88 overtime decision last year in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament- a game that ended the Golden Panthers 2006-07 season.

TV/RADIO/INTERNET: All FAU games this season will air live on commercial radio WMEN - 640 AM. Evan Cohen (play-by-play) will call Wednesday's game against Florida International. Additional audio links to WMEN's radio broadcasts are accessible via Florida Atlantic University's official athletics website (FAUSPORTS.com). Florida International will provide a radio broadcast via its on-campus network.

Rex Walters (2ND YEAR): Coach Rex Walters (Kansas '93) joined the FAU staff on April 20, 2005 and one year and eight days later he was promoted from associate head coach to become a head coach for the first time in his coaching career. In his first season at the helm (2006-07), Walters guided Florida Atlantic to its second-consecutive winning season. It marked the first time FAU posted back-to-back winning campaigns since the team enjoyed three straight years of .500-plus basketball from 1989-90 to 1991-92. Walters guided the Owls to 10 Sun Belt Conference wins a year ago, the third-most for a first-year Sun Belt member. The team also scored 2,321 points, the most in FAU history. As associate head coach under Matt Doherty in 2005-06, Walters helped the Owls close its tenure in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 15-13 overall record and the program's best conference record at 14-6. Prior to Florida Atlantic, Walters' first collegiate coaching job came at Valparaiso, a two-year stint as an assistant under Homer Drew. His coaching career began in 2002-03 in Overland Park, Kansas, where he served as an assistant coach for the Blue Valley Northwest High School team that reached the Kansas Class 6A State Tournament. Walters' pedigree for coaching began as a player, receiving tutelage from some of the game's legendary coaches. Roy Williams at the University of Kansas and the NBA's Chuck Daly, Larry Brown and Pat Riley all mentored Walters during his years as a player.

SOUTH ALABAMA HOLDS OFF FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Fueled by a career-high 23 points from Ronald Douglas, South Alabama defeated Florida Atlantic 91-74 Saturday night. The loss snapped a five-game winning-streak for Florida Atlantic (12-15), who trailed by just three at halftime. South Alabama (21-5) ran its record to 14-0 this season at the Mitchell Center, the site of the upcoming Sun Belt Conference postseason tournament. Junior guard Carderro Nwoji had 17 points and six assists to pace FAU. A three-point basket by Sean Alarcon gave FAU an early 17-9 advantage, quieting a raucous crowd of 8,262- the second largest to watch an FAU game this season. Florida Atlantic shot 56 percent from the floor in the first half, connecting on 6-of-9 shots from three-point range and despite Carlos Monroe, the Sun Belt's leading rebounder and FAU's top scorer, playing just four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, South Alabama led by just three at the break, 41-38. Coming into the game averaging just over five points per night, Douglas was 10-of-11 from the field, putting together a performance that included a series of two-handed dunks in the paint. One such slam by Douglas extended the Jaguars' lead to six in the opening stages of the second half. An uncontested transition basket by South Alabama guard Demetric Bennett pushed the Jaguars' advantage to 13 with just over six minutes on the clock, 73-60. Paul Graham III and Xavier Perkins provided a second-half spark for the Owls, combining to score eleven points in a three-minute span to keep FAU close, but the Jaguars would not be denied at home.

A QUICK LOOK AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL: Florida International (8-16; 5-9 SBC) enters Wednesday's game with FAU on a full week's rest. The Golden Panthers defeated FAU 69-58 in Miami on January 5th. FIU had lost six straight and nine-of-ten prior to picking up that home win over the Owls, which included non-conference losses to Miami at home, 67-53 and road losses at Purdue, 59-44, and Kentucky, 92-49. The Golden Panthers are still in search of its first road win this season (0-9 overall and 0-7 SBC). FIU does bring a two-game winning-streak into Wednesday's game, picking up two home victories last week, beating a top-tier Sun Belt Conference team in Middle Tennessee State, 66-60, and knocking off Arkansas Little-Rock 57-45. Head coach Sergio Rouco used his 11th different starting lineup in the victory over Middle Tennessee State. The Golden Panthers rank 12th in the 13-team league in scoring offense (64.6 ppg) and 13th in turnovers per game (18.4).

NEXT UP: Middle Tennessee State (12-13; 9-6 SBC) visits the FAU Arena Saturday night, February 23. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The Blue Raiders won a close game against FAU, 61-57, January 9 in Murfreesboro. Saturday's game should figure into the upcoming conference tournament seeding, with Middle Tennessee State entering the week 2.5 games ahead of FAU in the Eastern Division standings. The Blue Raiders will travel to Denver for a Thursday night game against the Pioneers, who are 9-1 at home this season, before playing FAU on Saturday.

OWL CLUB COACHES' BREAKFAST: Join Owls head coach Rex Walters Wednesday, February 20 at 8 a.m. for the Dunkin' Donuts Coaches' Breakfast in the Founders Room at FAU's Oxley Center. Both coach Walters and head women's basketball coach Chancellor Dugan will provide insight into their teams and this week's games. A complimentary breakfast will be provided courtesy of Dunkin' Donuts. All Owl Club members are encouraged to attend. For more information about FAU's Owl Club please visit FAU's official athletics website (FAUSPORTS.com).

SEVEN CONSECUTIVE AT HOME: The Owls have won seven-straight home games, including six straight at "The Burrow" (Jan. 24 game with Denver was moved to nearby Lynn University due to the Republican National Debates being held on FAU's campus that same night). Five of FAU's seven consecutive home wins came against Sun Belt Conference opponents.

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: The Owls have won seven-of-nine dating back to Jan. 19. Prior to Saturday's road loss at South Alabama, the Owls had won five straight. FAU has rebounded from a 1-7 overall start and an 0-5 conference beginning to push its record to 12-15 and 6-8 in league play.

TRENDS OF RECENT SUCCESS: Spanning FAU's last nine games (seven of which were wins) FAU has averaged 82.1 points per night. FAU is 6-0 this season when scoring 80 points or more. During this recent stretch of success the Owls have attempted on average 4.4 fewer shots per game than their opponents, and are shooting 51% from the floor.

WINNING CLOSE GAMES: FAU is 8-5 in games this season decided by six points or less. Additionally, the Owls won its only overtime game of the year thus far, edging Denver 70-68, Jan. 24.

SUN BELT'S TOP REBOUNDER: FAU 6-foot-8 junior forward Carlos Monroe (Philadelphia, PA) has ten double-doubles this season. He is the Sun Belt's leading rebounder (9.1 rpg) while also scoring 15.6 points per night. His ten rebounds Saturday night against South Alabama marked the tenth time this season Monroe has reached double figures in rebounds. His 16 boards against Troy on January 12th of this year was a season and career-high. Monroe matched a then-career-high, clearing 15 rebounds the last time FIU and FAU met in "The Burrow," on February 28, 2007, during the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Carlos Monroe REACHES 1,000-POINT PLATEAU: FAU junior forward Carlos Monroe scored 24 points against Denver on January 24 to become the sixth 1,000-point scorer in FAU history. Monroe passed Mike Bell with his performance and now stands in fifth place all-time on the career points list at FAU. Monroe has a chance to pass Damon Arnette for fourth place all time before the end of the season. Arnette scored 1,246 points in his FAU career.

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT TIE-BREAKER: Every team in the Sun Belt Conference receives a berth into the league's postseason tournament. The top eight teams are either granted a first round bye (automatically advancing to the quarterfinals March 9 in Mobile) or a first round home game (held at the respective home venue on the night of March 5). Below is a breakdown of the conference tie-braking system:

Top three teams receive a first round bye. Division winners guaranteed the 1 and 2 seeds. The next best team is the 3 seed and also gets a bye.

Two-team tie-breaker: (1) head to head. If still tied... (2) record against team's division winner. If still tied... (3) record against second-place in team's division. If still tied... (3) record against third-place in the division... and so on.

Three-team tie-breaker: (1) record against all involved teams. If still tied... (2) record against team's division winner. If still tied... (3) record against second-place in team's division. If still tied... (3) record against third-place in the division... and so on.

FEELING A DRAFT: Former Owl guard DeAndre Rice became the first FAU player ever selected in the NBDL Draft on 11/01/07. Last year's team scoring leader was chosen 46th overall by the Tulsa 66ers with the fourth pick in the fourth round. The 66ers are the primary affiliate for three NBA clubs - the Dallas Mavericks, the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks.

FAU AND THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: FAU is seeking its second-ever NCAA tournament appearance this season. The Owls earned their only previous invitation with an automatic berth as Atlantic Sun champions in 2001-02. As a 15 seed, FAU pushed second-seeded Alabama to the brink in a hard-fought 86-78 first round loss. The Crimson Tide, possibly staggered by that stern test, fell to eventual Elite 8 "Cinderella" Kent State in a 71-58 final in the second round.

WORKING ON NEXT YEAR: Rex Walters has announced the letter of intent signings of two new players for the 2008-09 season. FAU signed six-foot-six forward Dago Pena from Punta Gorda, FL. Pena averaged nearly 16 points and six rebounds a game as a junior. He was named class 5-A third-team all-state in Florida last year, and is a top 100 prospect in the nation according to Slam Magazine. The Owls also signed six-foot-two guard Shavon Shine from DeSoto High School in Arcadia, FL. Shine averaged 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals in his junior season. He was named to the Florida class 4-A honorable mention all-state team, and was named Charlotte Sun-Herald first team all-area. Both Shine and Pena are currently teammates on the highly respected Florida Rams AAU team.

FAU HALL OF FAME: Craig Buchanan (1993-97) was inducted into the FAU Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2007. Buchanan ranks first in career field goals made (582), and is second in all-time scoring (1,501 points) for FAU men's basketball. He was also the firstFAU player to reach 1,000 points and the team's leading scorer during three of his four seasons, as the Owls transitioned into Division I and improved their record from 3-24 to 16-11 over that span.

HOME AT LAST: Sammy Hernandez a 6-5 250-pound forward, transfered from George Mason to Florida Atlantic last season. He was an important part of the GMU team that advanced to the Final Four in 2005-06. Hernandez won two high school championships while playing high school basketball in the state of Florida during his prep career. He grabbed three rebounds in 14 minutes of action in his FAU debut against Monmouth and started his first game for the Owls against Louisiana-Lafayette.