Dec. 26, 2008

Game Notes in PDF Format

FLORIDA ATLANTIC (4-8) @ KENTUCKY (9-3)
Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008 - Rupp Arena (23,000)
Lexington, KY - 3:00 p.m. ET
TV: FSN | ESPN 360

GAME #13: Florida Atlantic (4-8; 0-2 Sun Belt) continues its challenging early-season schedule when the Owls play seven-time NCAA National Champions Kentucky (9-3; 0-0 SEC) at Rupp Arena in Lexington Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET.

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

TV/RADIO/INTERNET: Fox Sports Network (Boca Raton - Channel 35) will televise the game live. Dave Baker (play-by-play), Kyle Macy (analysis) and Rob Bromley (sideline) will call the game for FSN. The game will also be available online via ESPN360.com. 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 for WFTL at UK. GAMETRACKER will also be provided on FAUSPORTS.com.

GAME NOTES:
# Mike Jarvis (367-210 all-time) is in his 1st year as FAU head coach
# FAU is coming off its most lopsided loss of the season, 76-43 at UAB
# Kentucky has won 9 of 10; averaging 88 points per game during its current four-game winning streak
# FAU is 3-0 at home but 0-7 in 'true' road games
# UK has lost twice this season at Rupp Arena (vs. VMI 111-103) and (vs. Miami 73-67)
# Kentucky has led the nation in attendance in 12 of 13 seasons; 21,958 fans attended Monday's 102-58 win over Tennessee St.
# Saturday's game will be FAU's eighth road game since Nov. 22
# The Owls are playing 10 of 13 on the road to start the year
# FAU senior guard Paul Graham III is scoring a team-best 15.9 points per night
# Preseason All-America forward Carlos Monroe (13.7 ppg) will be playing in his fourth game since missing the first eight to start the season
# FAU scores 65.0 points per game compared to UK's average of 81.3
# Kentucky's 6-foot-4 junior Jodie Meeks leads the SEC in scoring and ranks sixth nationally (24.8 ppg)
# 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 Kentucky three times, first with Boston U. at Rupp Arena on Dec. 20, 1986 losing 81-69; at the Maui Invitational while with George Washington, losing 70-55 to a seventh-ranked UK team; and later on Nov. 9, 2000 when his St. John's team defeated UK 62-61 in the Red Storm's season-opener at MSG.
# The Owls had started the season 3-1 for the first time in its 15-year Division I history but have since lost 7 of 8

FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Owls (4-8) will be looking to rebound after losing big to UAB Monday in Birmingham 76-43. The loss was uncharacteristic for an FAU team that had been playing close games during its road-heavy early-season schedule. First-year head coach Mike Jarvis inherited a 15-18 team from 2007-08 that returned three senior starters in F Carlos Monroe, G Paul Graham III and G Carderro Nwoji. Monroe, projected to be the Sun Belt Conference "Player of the Year" by a number of college basketball publications, missed the first nine games of the year and has averaged 13.7 points and 5.0 rebounds since returning two weeks ago. Graham leads the team in scoring (15.9 ppg) and Nwoji is playing a team-high 32 minutes per night. Following Saturday's game with UK, FAU hosts two of the top teams in the Sun Belt, 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifiers South Alabama (Jan. 1) and Western Kentucky (Jan. 10), split up by a trip to play the University of Miami (Jan. 5) and preseason Sun Belt favorites Middle Tennessee St. (Jan. 8).

KENTUCKY: The Wildcats (9-3) have won 9 of 10 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. Second-year head coach Billy Gillispie (27-16 at UK) was named the 2007-08 SEC Coach of the Year after leading the `Cats to an 18-13 record and an NCAA Tournament berth in his first season at UK. Gillispie is getting an SEC-best 24.8 points per game from junior Jodie Meeks and 19.0 ppg and 9.1 rebounds each night from 6-foot-9 sophomore Patrick Patterson.

UP NEXT: FAU's fourth home game of the season. The Owls will host South Alabama Thursday, Jan. 1 at 2 p.m. ET. For tickets and more information call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.