Dec. 21, 2008

Game Notes in PDF Format

FLORIDA ATLANTIC (4-7) @ UAB (7-3)
Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 - Bartow Arena (8,500)
Birmingham, AL - 8:00 p.m. ET

GAME #12: Florida Atlantic continues its challenging early-season schedule when the Owls play C-USA member UAB at the Bartow Arena in Birmingham Monday night. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET.

TV/RADIO/INTERNET: All of FAU's regular-season games (home and away) will air on live commercial radio WFTL - 640 AM with additional audio links available via FAUSPORTS.com. Ken LaVicka (play-by-play) will call the game at UAB. Live scoring via GAMETRACKER will also be provided on FAUSPORTS.com.

THE SERIES: FAU has never played UAB. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.

GAME NOTES:
# Mike Jarvis (367-209 all-time) is in his 1st year as FAU head coach
# Both teams are fresh off games against Troy (Troy beat FAU 94-87 Thursday in Troy; UAB defeated Troy 73-68 in Birmingham Saturday)
# Monday's game will be FAU's seventh road game since Nov. 22
# The Owls are playing 10 of 13 on the road to start the year
# FAU is 3-0 at home this season but 0-6 in `true' road games
# UAB has won 17 of 18 on its home floor at Bartow Arena
# FAU is playing teams tough despite having lost 6 of 7. In their last four defeats (all on the road) the Owls have lost by an average of just six points
# The Owls had started the season 3-1 for the first time in its 15-year Division I history
# Preseason All-America forward Carlos Monroe was cleared to play last week, he scored 23 points against Troy Thursday in his second game back in the lineup
# Senior guard Paul Graham III is scoring 15.9 points per night
# Seniors Graham, Monroe and Carderro Nwoji accounted for 87 of FAU's 94 points against Troy last time out
# FAU is best in the Sun Belt Conference in free throw shooting (72%)
# The Owls have outrebounded its opponents 35-33 on average, despite playing without F Carlos Monroe for the season's first nine games. Monroe led the Sun Belt in rebounding last season (9.5 p/g) and is FAU's all-time leader in rebounding (656)
# Mike Jarvis is one of the most accomplished coaches in NCAA history, having won 100 games at three different schools (Boston, St. John's and George Washington), including leading each of those schools into postseason play in his first season as head coach
# Jarvis has coached against UAB twice in his career, first while at GWU in the first round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament in Uniondale, N.Y. and later while at St. John's, a third round 2003 NIT contest - winning both times.
# UP NEXT: @ Kentucky (Saturday, Dec. 27 at 3 p.m. ET)

FAU PROBABLE STARTERS: (based on last game)
G - #12 Carderro Nwoji (6-0, 175, Sr., Wichita, KS) - 9.4 ppg | 3.5 rpg
G - #5 Alex Tucker (5-11, 160, Fr., San Pedro, CA) - 6.0 ppg | 4.1 apg
G - #1 Shavar Richardson (6-2, 165, Fr., Brooklyn, NY) - 10.6 ppg | 3.8 rpg
G - #25 Paul Graham III (6-5, 190, Sr., Philadelphia, PA) - 15.9 ppg | 3.2 rpg
F - #32 Carlos Monroe (6-8, 245, Sr., Philadelphia, PA) - 16.5 ppg | 6.0 rpg

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Owls (4-7) have dropped 6 of 7 after beginning the season 3-1. FAU head coach Mike Jarvis inherited a team what went 15-18 overall last season and 8-10 in the Sun Belt Conference. FAU held second-half leads in its first to Sun Belt games last week, losses at Denver (66-55) and at Troy (94-87), and have begun its conference season 0-2. Monday's game at UAB is part of a difficult non-conference schedule for FAU. The Owls have lost at Arizona (75-62) and at No. 24 Davidson (76-60) and will play both Kentucky and Miami on the road in the coming two weeks. FAU has welcomed back three-time all-conference forward Carlos Monroe - 16.5 points per game since returning to the lineup last week. Expect Monroe and senior classmate Paul Graham III (15.9 ppg) to pace the Owls offensively Monday night. Sophomore F/C Brett Royster is among the NCAA leaders in blocks per game (2.1) and freshman guard Alex Tucker has emerged as one of the team's top young players, distributing over four assists per night.

UAB: Third-year head coach Mike Davis and the Blazers (7-3) return four starters from a team that went 23-11 in 2007-08. Guard/forward Robert Vaden is averaging 20.1 points per game and has been widely recognized as one of the nation's top players. The 6-foot-5 senior is projected to be the C-USA Player of the Year. UAB takes care of the ball extremely well, ranking No. 3 in the NCAA in committing just 10.4 turnovers per game. The Blazers also shoot 73% as a team from the free throw line. Their only losses of the season have come at Cincinnati (87-80) and against No. 4 Oklahoma (77-67) and Boston College (83-77) in the finals of the preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden. FAU and UAB both played in Tucson, AZ earlier this season in the first round bracket of the preseason NIT but did not face each other.

UP NEXT: Saturday, December 27, 2008 at 3 p.m. ET at Kentucky. The Wildcats (8-3) have won 8 of 9 including beating West Virginia (54-43) on a neutral floor and knocking off Indiana (72-54) at home. Their lone loss during that stretch was to Miami (73-67) in Lexington.

NEXT HOME GAME: Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 2 p.m. ET vs. South Alabama. The FAU women's team will play South Alabama prior to the men's game as part of a New Year's Day double-header at the FAU Arena. For tickets or more information call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.