SB Nation - Florida Atlantic Owls

BtB 2009-10 Sun Belt Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:21 -0000

Undoubtedly, the story of the Sun Belt's offseason was Isiah Thomas' arrival in Miami, where the former Detroit Pistons point guard and New York Knicks head coach takes over a struggling Florida International program. In just about his first act as coach, Thomas threatened to pull the Golden Panthers out of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, after the tournament's organizer, the Gazelle Group, scheduled FIU to play North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thomas wanted his team to play at Ohio State instead. Things were eventually smoothed out, which means that FIU will remain host of the "subregional" round, featuring four of the non-major participants in the tournament.

Outside of the circus in South Florida, the other big story to watch in the league this year is whether anyone will seriously challenge Western Kentucky for the league crown. Demetri Goodson took a second straight Sweet 16 from right under the Hilltoppers' noses, and Ken McDonald's 2009-10 outfit, featuring most of those performers, will still be a prohibitive favorite, even if they are a bit thinner this season. An earlier indicator of the 'Toppers chances will be the NIT Season Tip-Off. WKU has been placed in the South region in Baton Rouge. If they can get by Horizon contender Milwaukee, they could face an LSU side that's significantly weaker than last year's tournament squad. The winner of that contest books their ticket to New York. Even if the Hilltoppers don't make the semifinals, as the fifth seeded team in the competition, they'll host one of the consolation rounds in Bowling Green.

Additionally, for the second straight year, the conference has put itself in the early season showcase business. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky will host the second ever Sun Belt Classic in Nashville. The Blue Raiders will take on Tennessee there, while the Hilltoppers will face Vanderbilt.

More on the rest of the conference after the jump.

Let's first take a look at last season's Sun Belt standings.

Sun Belt Conference Standings

(updated 3.22.2009 at 12:14 AM EDT)

East	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	15	3	25	9
Troy Trojans	14	4	19	13
South Alabama Jaguars	10	8	20	13
Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders	10	8	18	14
Fla. International Golden Panthers	7	11	13	20
Florida Atlantic Owls	2	16	6	26

West	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Ark.-Little Rock Trojans	15	3	23	8
North Texas Eagles	11	7	20	12
Denver Pioneers	9	9	15	16
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns	7	11	10	20
New Orleans Privateers	6	12	11	19
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks	6	12	10	20
Arkansas St. Red Wolves	5	13	13	17

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order, starting with the West Division.

West Division

New Orleans (last NCAA: 1996) The Privateers are one of the many teams in this conference who struggle away from home, as they went winless in conference road games last season. They managed to win six at home; however, UNO will struggle to improve that their three returning starters aren't scorers. 6-10 Czech center Jaroslav Tyrna, is the leading returning scorer, and he only averaged 6.5 points per contest. Joe Pasternack will have to find someone to replace swingman Kendall Dykes (17.3 ppg) and forward T.J. Worley (16 ppg), along with point guard Darrian McKinstry, who was kicked off team after being suspended three times last season. Pasternack may have to lean heavily on 3-star recruit Jacolby Pittman, a 6-10 F/C, and fellow freshman Devin McDonald, a 6-1 guard, along with 6-3 Georgia transfer Billy Humphrey.

Arkansas State (last NCAA: 1999) John Brady's team struggled at the end of last season, as they dropped 10 in a row. They also only won once in the Sun Belt away from Jonesboro, and that was against Denver. The Red Wolves had enough defense and rebounding, but struggled to score. These are all things that may not change this time around. Brady obtains the service of Oklahoma State transfer Martavius Adams, a 6-8 forward, and he'll be called on to replace F Eric McKinney, a stout defender who averaged 8.6 points and 6.1 points a game. Brady also welcomes back 6-5 G Donald Boone, the team's leading returning scorer, averaging 13.6 a contest, and 6-7 F JeJuan Brown (7.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg). 6-2 guard Trey Finn will come off a redshirt year to join Boone in backcourt, while Daniel Bryant, a 5-10 sophomore who averaged nearly 7 points and a little more than 2 assists a game, could be drafted to play point.

Louisiana-Monroe (last NCAA: 1996) The good news for Orlando Early is that he gets all five starters back from last season. The bad news is that those starters only managed to win 10 times in 2008-09, six times in the Sun Belt, and twice in league away games. However, the Warhawks could improve significantly, as Early also gets guard Tony Hooper back. He was granted a fifth year of eligibility after he missed the bulk of last season because of injury. That means five Warhawks averaged in double-figures last time they played: 6-6 G/F Malcolm Thomas (12.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg), 6-7 F Lawrence Gilbert (10.9 ppg), 6-8 F Rudy Turner (10.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg), 6-2 reserve guard Dynile Forbes (11 ppg), and Hooper (15.1 ppg in 07-08). 5-8 PG Kenneth Averette (6.1 ppg, 3.2 apg) should join Hooper in the backcourt to run ULM's offense.

Louisiana-Lafayette (last NCAA: 2005) The Ragin' Cajuns were yet another bad Sun Belt road team last year, winning only once on their travels (at Troy!). They managed this with five returning starters. This time around, Robert Lee has four returning starters, with only center Jeremy Barr gone (5.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg). Next year, Louisiana-Lafayette will be probably be down to three returning starters, as two seniors feature this time around, 5-10 guard Randell Daigle (11.3 ppg) and 6-8 forward Tyren Johnson (7.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg). The two returning juniors are the Cajuns leading scorers, 6-7 guards Chris Gradnigo (13.3 ppg) and Travis Bureau (12.4 ppg. 4.3 rpg) Lee gets another 6-7 player back, forward LaRyan Gary (6.9 ppg. 4 rpg) who is coming off knee injury. In the backcourt, Ryan McCoy (7.3 ppg, 2.1 apg) is a key performer off the bench.

Arkansas-Little Rock (last NCAA: 1990) Steve Shields' squad won the West Division and won 20 games for the second year in a row, but the Trojans could have done so much more. Unfortunately, the team fell apart after point guard Steven Moore was dismissed in late February, culminating in a loss to South Alabama in the Sun Belt semis, a game where UALR had a bit of a homecourt advantage. The two players who fell immediately behind Moore on the team's scoring chart, F Shane Edwards (11.8 ppg) and G John Fowler (10.5)--also a key defensive player, are also gone, as is 6-6 G Brandon Patterson (6 ppg, 4 rpg). Arkansas native and South Florida transfer Soloman Bozeman, a 6-foot guard, will be Moore's full-time replacement. Matt Mouzy, who averaged more than 10 points per contest last year, will have to increase his scoring output, but he is another good defender for Shields. The Trojans need 6-7 Mike Smith (7.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) to develop into more of a frontcourt force, as last year's lone returning frontcourt starter, 6-8 Wayne Burton (3.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg) is offensively limited.

Denver (last NCAA: None) The only team in the Sun Belt to have never made the NCAA Basketball Tournament could rid itself of that title this season. (Now, for hockey, it's a completely different story.) Joe Scott's Princeton offense is really taking root in the Mile High City, and the Pioneers seem to have put their road woes behind them. DU won two straight road games at the end of the regular season, ending a drought that began after a February 11, 2006 win at Middle Tennessee. Scott's team features all five starters from a year ago, led by 6-5 G/F Nate Rohnert (15.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.7 apg), a serious threat for SBC Player of the Year, 6-7 F Rob Lewis (12.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg), 6-3 G Brian Stafford (11.4 ppg). Plus, 6-9 forward Andrew Hooper actually led the Sun Belt three-point percentage, nailing 46.6 percent of his attempts as he averaged a little more than 9 points per contest. The Pioneers were as solid on both offense (47.9 team FG percentage) and defense (top 25 in the nation in scoring defense), as you'd expect a Princeton-style team to be.

North Texas (last NCAA: 2007) The Pioneers' main stumbling block to the West Division crown is a team based in Denton, Texas that also returns all five starters. The Mean Green seek a return to the NCAAs after a two year absence, while picking up their fourth straight 20-win season. Four of Johnny Jones' returning starters averaged in double figures last time around. 6-7 F Eric Tramiel (12 ppg, 6.6 rpg) is another serious contender for Sun Belt POY. 6-5 guard Tristan Thompson, 5-10 point guard Dominique Johnson (3.8 apg), and 5-10 guard Josh White all averaged more than 11 a contest, with White being nearly automatic from the foul line (90.6 FT%), Inside, 6-8 George Odufwa is a monster on the boards, grabbing nearly 7 a game, to go along with 6-plus point. The Mean Green also get back 6-4 guard Collin Mangrum, who has struggled with injuries over the past two years. The two senior starters, Tramiel and Johnson want to go out on top, and they may have the supporting cast to do it.

East Division

Florida International (last NCAA: 1995) Isiah Thomas should be in for some rough sledding in his first year at the helm of the Golden Panthers. FIU's leading scorers of a year ago, forward Alex Galindo (14.4 ppg) and center Freddy Asprilla (13.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg) are both gone. Guards Michael Dominguez and Josue Soto, who also averaged around 10 points a contest are also gone. That means 6-9 forward Nikola Gacesa is the lone remaining starter for FIU. As you'd expect of a team hit by sudden departures, Thomas' first recruiting class heavy on JC transfers, but he does gain the services of 6-2 Temple transfer Martavis Kee.

Florida Atlantic (last NCAA: 2002) Mike Jarvis begins his second season in Boca Raton completely overshadowed by Isiah Thomas' arrival at archrival FIU. The Owls were terrible last season without Xavier Perkins (academics) and Carlos Monroe, who did manage to average 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds a game despite dealing with foot and eligibility problems. And they may not be much better this season, as they only return two starters, 6-8 forward Brett Royster (7.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and 5-11 point guard Alex Tucker (6.1 ppg, 4.8 apg). Jarvis will be expecting big things out of 6-2 sophomore Shavar Richardson, who averaged almost 12 points and four boards a game from the bench. He has a great chance to fill the void left by Paul Graham III's (18.5 ppg) graduation. Jarvis' team will be young, as he brought in seven freshmen and only one JC transfer this offseason.

Middle Tennessee (last NCAA: 1989) Kermit Davis was forced to start four guards last year after 6-10 center Theryn Hudson injured his foot. Hudson is back, but three of the guards are gone, with the graduation of MT's all-time assist leader, Kevin Kanaskie (3.8 apg), being the most painful. Last year's SBC Preseason Player of the Year, Desmond Yates, is the key returnee. He should move back to his natural position, power forward, thanks to Hudson's return. Yates averaged over 17 points and 4.5 boards a contest last time around. Davis will expect JC transfers Rod Emmanuel (6-2) and James Washington (6-0) to fill the holes in the backcourt. 6-4 guard Calvin O'Neil should also see more action this season, as he averaged 5.6 ppg and 3.7 rpg in '08-09.

South Alabama (last NCAA: 2008) Ronnie Arrow's team won 20 games last year, and made it to the Sun Belt championship game, but the season had to feel like a disappointment for Jaguars fans. USA may struggle to win 20 again, as Arrow returns only one starter, 6-5 guard LaShun Watson, who only averaged 7 points a contest. However, 6-0 point guard Bryan Sherrer did take on a starting role late in the season (5.3 ppg, 1.6 apg overall). 6-7 G/F Gary Redus joins the Jaguars from Centenary, where he averaged 12 points and 3.4 boards a game last year. (He's eligible immediately as the Gents' announced their move to D-III this offseason. Otherwise, Arrow will again lean on JC transfers, including Allyn Cooks, Raymond Sims, Bacari Moulton, Tim Williams (Moulton and Williams both averaged over 21 a game last year), Brandon Noble, and Adrian Sims to fill the void left by the graduation of Domonic Tilford, Brandon Davis, and DeAndre Coleman.

Troy (last NCAA: 2003) The Trojans will be a serious threat to Western Kentucky's reign atop the East Division, as they bring back four starters from team that won 14 league games and earned a CBI home game last year The only starter gone is 7-foot center Tom Jervis (6.7 ppg. 6.5 rpg), but 6-9 Alabama transfer Yamene Coleman will step in to replace him. The four returning starters for Don Maestri are all seniors, led by All-Sun Belt selection Brandon Hazzard, a pure scorer who averaged 16.2 ppg, while finishing as the nation's seventh best 3-point shooter, converting nearly 45 percent of his attempts. Richard Delk, who started his career at Mississippi State is another dangerous scorer, averaging nearly 14 points a contest. Point guard Michael Vogler is responsible for getting them the ball, and he did a great job last season, averaging nearly 6 assists a game and over 10 points. 6-6 Antywan Jones averaged 4.5 points and almost 3 boards a game in the frontcourt, which will be bolstered by the return of 6-8 junior Trayce Macon who returns after a year off (7.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg in '07-08).

Western Kentucky (last NCAA: 2009) Ken McDonald very nearly got the Hilltoppers where Darrin Horn led them before his departure for South Carolina, but a last second loss to Gonzaga kept WKU from traveling to Memphis for the South Regional. The 'Toppers will miss Sun Belt Player of the Year Orlando Mendez-Valdez (14.2 ppg, 4.1 apg), but the other four starters return, including 6-3 senior A.J. Slaughter (16 ppg, 3.6 apg), 6-5 junior swingmen Sergio Kerusch (11.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Steffphon Pettigrew (12.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg), and 6-9 F Jeremy Evans (8.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) McDonald won't have the deepest team; however, especially with recruits Terrence Boyd, who would've provided substantial backcourt support, and David Laury dismissed from the team.

Despite their depth issues, I'm picking Western Kentucky to win yet another Sun Belt title, so they'll take the league's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-SBC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Sun Belt Team

Player of the Year: A.J. Slaughter, 6-3 G, Sr. (Western Kentucky)

Remainder of the Team
Brandon Hazzard, 6-2 G, Sr. (Troy)
Nate Rohnert, 6-5 G/F, Sr. (Denver)
Eric Tramiel, 6-7 F, Sr. (North Texas)
Desmond Yates, 6-7 F, Sr. (Middle Tennesee)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Sun Belt this season?

Arkansas-Little Rock

1 votes

Arkansas State

0 votes

Denver

1 votes

Florida Atlantic

1 votes

Florida International

2 votes

Louisiana-Lafayette

1 votes

Louisiana-Monroe

0 votes

Middle Tennessee State

1 votes

New Orleans

0 votes

North Texas

2 votes

South Alabama

0 votes

Troy

3 votes

Western Kentucky

5 votes

17 votes | Poll has closed

Sunday Open Thread: Landon Slone edition

Truzenzuzex — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:51:15 -0000

This morning, I feel a tiny, teensy bit better about yesterday's game with FAU. I am not generally too accepting of coaches' remarks when they say, "I thought they played out of their minds," in reference to the other team, but it definitely has the ring of truth in this particular case. FAU was simply terrific in many ways, and even though UK's defense (or rather, lack thereof) was partially responsible, FAU was scoring on us even when our defense was very good.

Here are some articles and commentary from around Al Gore's Folly:

"Until Porter got on him, I thought we put a lot of 'efenders' on him," Gillispie said. "No 'D.' "
So said Coach Gillispie in this Jerry Tipton article. Funny. Further to my other point above, note this comment from Mike Porter about Graham:

The run grew to 10-0 before Shavar Richardson hit a three-pointer. That was Florida Atlantic's only basket from the 14:33 mark until Graham hit an awkward 15-foot banker over Porter with 7:18 left.

"Oh gosh, that made me mad," Porter said. "He was on tonight. He was just making shots. I guess when you're playing like that, everything falls."

Heh. Jodie Meeks would know about that. Ask him. Just not today.
John Clay looks at Landon Slone's contribution to the game yesterday, and wonders if Slone is the next Cameron Mills. Could be. Another article by the News-Enterprise quotes Gillispie thus:

"The first two or three times he touched the ball, he immediately improves his angle to throw the ball to Pat or throws to Josh and does a real good job of feeding the post," Gillispie said. "He’s a very smart player. Who knows what could happen for him? I thought he gave us the biggest spark of anyone on our team today."
I think this illustrates a clear problem with some of our guard play. Michael Porter got taken to task in the game for just dribbling aimlessly on the right wing without trying to improve his position to enter the post -- dribbling purposelessly. Gillispie called an immediate timeout and coached him on this point. All our other guards need to learn this same lesson.
Straightpinkie has post-game thoughts. I agree with some, not so much with others.
The Associated Press says that Stevenson got blasted by his teammates in the locker room at halftime:

“We told him to pick it up,” Kentucky center Patrick Patterson said of Stevenson. “When we were in the locker room, we said some things I’m not able to say here. We tried to pick him up, lift his spirits, make him angry.”
Whatever works, and for the record, that appeared to work.
The Frankfort State-Journal has more praise for Landon Slone.
Rick Bozich has praise for Michael Porter. Well earned, I would say.
John Clay has game thoughts on his blog. I think these are very cogent.
ECU says they are ready for the 'Cats in the Liberty Bowl. Hartline gets a fresh start at quarterback.

Discuss.

Florida Atlantic Owls 69, Kentucky Wildcats 76: Post Mortem

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 22:36:29 -0000

Well, that game was just way too exciting for me, but the Kentucky Wildcats prevailed over an extraordinarily proficient Florida Atlantic University. As I said in my pre-game remarks, this team's record was not at all indicative of their ability. Little did I know how right I was. Great game by the FAU Owls, they gave the 'Cats all, and I do mean all they wanted.

For Kentucky, it was a radical departure from its last four five games, which were never really in doubt. This one was in serious doubt until very late in the second half, and the biggest reason for that was FAU's ability to get into an offensive rhythm early in the game, something that UK has managed to deny the opponent in the last five games.

In this writer's opinion, Billy Gillispie's tinkering with a starting lineup that was working incredibly well was the major reason this game was a struggle. I will say that if Galloway was being disciplined for something, it's just one of those things. Unfortunately, Gillispie is not forthcoming about that. But since Stevenson was also on the bench at the tip, this looks to me like a Gillispie garden-variety "earn it in practice" deal. At some point, this is going to cost us an important game, and I don't think the Big Blue Nation will be very happy. But he is the man in charge, and I guess I'll have to put up with it whether I like it or not -- and for the record, I don't.

Regardless, here are a few other observations:

Kentucky took good care of the basketball, managing only 7 turnovers -- a season low by a mile.
Kentucky did a very poor job of shooting from the perimeter, but a really good job of getting the ball inside to our bigs, who dominated the smaller FAU players in the paint.
Perry Stevenson was outstanding in the second half except for a bad decision near the end where he left a 3-point shooter to help on a dribble drive. Time and score, Perry. Learn from it.
Jodie Meeks was cold from the outside, but was great at finding other ways to get points. His defense was particularly awful, though, and he gambles way too much. He needs to get that under control.
Patrick Patterson was just fantastic. He made a few defensive mistakes, but overall, the positve far outweighs the negative. He looked like the Patterson of last year.
Graham for FAU was just unstoppable today, making circus shots. He also nailed open midrange jumpers and did a great job of getting to the rim.
The FAU guards played a nearly flawless game and were as hot as magma. Kentucky was only able to manage 3 steals and the Owls only turned it over 10 times.
Carlos Monroe makes a big difference in this FAU team. He gives them an inside presence and a defensive presence, and allows them to play inside out. He also sets really hard screens.
No Josh Harrellson in the second half after a pretty good first half. But Stevenson and Patterson were awesome together in the second half. After Stevenson made a couple of dunks, he was a different player.
Good game by Porter, pretty good game by Liggins. Porter has got to learn to hit open shots. He was better last year. What happened?
Amazing game by Landon Slone. I felt comfortable with him in the game, surprisingly. The FAU guards really did not out-athlete him.
Great job on the glass, both defensive and offensive, by UK. That stat really pleases me.

Overall, I was amazed at how we could not defend this team. I don't know whether to be concerned, or chalk it up to a white-hot team who executed almost flawlessly. I saw a number of defensive errors, but I saw almost as many great offensive plays, particularly staggered screens that really seemed to disadvantage the 'Cats and freed up players for open looks, which they knocked down with frightening regularity.

Overall, I would say our more talented big guys won this game. I think the FAU guards were better than ours, and that ought to be a concern. I will be looking for better on Monday.

Florida Atlantic @ Kentucky: "I wanna push you around"

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:09:27 -0000

...

Well I will, well I will
I wanna push you down
Well I will, well I will
I wanna take you for granted ...

--Matchbox Twenty, Push

I'm sure that Kentucky is thinking of pushing around the Florida Atlantic University Owls as they come in to the Bluegrass to take on the Wildcats this afternoon at 3:00. Why did I choose Matchbox Twenty for our intro lyric? Because they originated in Orlando, and that's about as close as I can get to finding a group or singer I know from Boca Raton.

Quick facts about FAU:

Location: Boca Raton, FL
Enrollment: 26,000
Conference: Sun Belt
Nickname: Owls
Colors: Blue and Red
Head coach: Mike Jarvis, first year at FAU

Kentucky is going to want to push the Owls around, and now we will look at the numbers courtesy of Statsheet.com:

Player statistics and evaluations:

Florida Atlantic University Owls
	Size	Pos	Class	GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
C. Nwoji	6'0”/175#	G	Sr	12	11	32.4	8.8	33	83.3	28.3	3.8	1.4	2.3	2.7	1	0.3	0	2.4
P. Graham III	6'5”/190#	G	Sr	12	11	31.8	15.9	39.2	77.5	33.8	3.3	0.5	2.8	1.4	1.8	0.6	0.1	1.7
S. Richardson	6'2”/165#	G	Fr	12	4	27.5	10.2	34.6	66.7	33.3	3.8	0.4	3.3	1.7	1.6	0.2	0	1.7
B. Royster	6'8”/220#	F	So	12	11	27.3	6.3	55.6	62.5	0	5.3	1.7	3.7	0.5	1.4	0.4	1.8	3.2
C. Watson	6'6”/210#	F	Fr	12	7	20.6	5.3	54.2	68.8	0	4.8	1.9	2.8	0.3	2.1	0.8	0.4	3.1
X. Perkins	6'0”/175#	G	So	8	8	30	12.4	50	80	50	6.4	2	4.4	2.9	2.6	0.5	0.1	2.8
A. Tucker	6'4”/225#	G	So	9	3	26.4	5.9	41.2	64.9	16.7	2.4	1	1.4	3.8	2.8	1	0.1	2.9
S. Hernandez	6'5”/230#	F	Sr	11	2	12.5	2.6	48.1	75	0	2.9	1	1.9	0.4	0.5	0.3	0.1	1.8
Carlos Monroe	6'8”/245#	F	Sr	3	3	29.7	13.7	48.4	68.8	0	5	1.3	3.7	1.3	3.7	2.7	0.3	3.1
Kentucky Wildcats
	Size	Pos	Class	GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
J. Meeks	6'4”/208#	G	Jr	12	12	32.3	24.8	47	88.2	42.3	3.3	0.5	2.8	1.9	3.3	1.6	0.2	2.1
P. Patterson	6'9”/235#	F	So	12	12	31.1	19	71.1	76.7	0	9.1	2.1	7	2.8	1.8	0.8	2.2	2.8
P. Stevenson	6'9”/207#	F	Jr	12	12	25.6	7.2	53.6	78.1	25	6.4	2.1	4.3	1.5	2	0.8	2.4	2.6
D. Miller	6'7”/223#	F	Fr	12	2	21.9	4.6	35.3	75	22.2	3.6	1.2	2.4	2.3	1.8	0.7	0.6	3.1
D. Liggins	6'6”/202#	G	Fr	12	0	21.2	7.2	48.3	76.7	22.7	3	0.2	2.8	3.6	3.5	1	0.5	2.2
M. Porter	6'3”/198#	G	Jr	12	12	20.5	2.5	27.8	80	24	2.3	0.4	1.8	2.9	2.3	0.8	0.1	1.8
R. Harris	6'7”/218#	F	Jr	8	6	22.6	8.1	66.7	64	16.7	2.8	1	1.8	1.3	2.4	1	0.4	1.8
J. Harrellson	6'10”/265#	F	So	12	0	13.2	5.7	47.3	76.5	50	3.9	1.3	2.7	0.5	0.8	0.3	0.8	1.2
Kevin Galloway	6'7”/215#	F	Jr	9	4	8.6	1.1	30	57.1	0	1.7	0.6	1.1	1.8	1.1	0.3	0.2	0.1

Back court match ups

FAU is likely to start a three-guard lineup against the 'Cats, including senior guards Paul Graham III and Carderro Nwoji. Xavier Perkins was starting at the beginning of the year but has missed the last four games, and may or may not be in the lineup today. If not, Alex Tucker will likely replace him in the starting lineup. Nwoji is a strong rebounder, averaging 5.4/game over the last five games, and Perkins was leading the Olws in rebounding from the guard spot.

The owls are only an average 3-point shooting team, and even though Perkins 50% shooting looks gaudy, he has only taken 10 3-point shots, making five. The leading 3-point shooter on the team is Paul Graham III at 34%

The Owls would seem to match up well against the Wildcats in the back court, as they have a good combination of small and quick as well as big and strong. Paul Graham III is a senior with size who is capable of guarding Jodie Meeks, unlike the smaller guards of the last few games. Alex Tucker is another big guard who can help with Meeks.

The 'Cats, however, are much deeper at the guard spot than the owls, and can initiate the offense with bigger players such as Liggins and Galloway. Overall, it's the 'Cats by a substantial margin in the backcourt, but this is the best backcourt we have seen in a while.

Front court match ups

The Owls welcome back arguably the best player in FAU history, Carlos Monroe. Monroe had to sit out the first nine games of the season becasue of academic issues. Monroe is a first team All-Sun Belt and pre-season mid-major All-American selection. He is a strong inside player and will give Patterson and Stevenson plenty to think about.

But beyond Monroe, the Owls have little in the way of size or experience in the front court. Sammy Hernandez is a senior, but he is a role player and well undersized for a two-forward three-guard lineup. Kentucky has a huge overall advantage in the front court in terms of depth and talent.

Team analysis

At this point, I will begin using the Pomeroy game plan analysis of the two teams. I think it gives us more useful information that merely comparing the team statistics:

Stat	Kentucky				FAU				Analysis
Stat	Offense	Rnk	Defense	Rnk	Offense	Rnk	Defense	Rnk	Delta	Advantage
Adjusted efficiency	108.3	70	84.2	15	94.9	248	105.6	253	-183	Large UK
Effective FG%	55.8	15	41.4	10	46.2	253	49.9	207	-192	Large UK
Turnover %	25.6	320	21.4	155	19.9	115	17.4	318	2	Marginal FAU
Offensive rebound %	35.7	97	30.1	74	32.8	192	32	124	-27	Slight UK
Free throw rate	33.2	22	35.3	154	26.7	111	37.4	188	-166	Large UK
3-point FG%	34.3	160	31.9	107	31.7	242	32.5	119	41	Slight FAU
2-point FG%	57.6	8	38.4	10	45.6	241	50.4	248	-240	Large UK
Free throw %	78.3	10	68.6	184	72	78	70.1	234	-224	Large UK
Block %	6.3	57	19.2	6	6.4	61	6.6	243	-186	Large UK
Steal %	11.3	258	9.7	182	8.9	107	6.5	332	-74	UK
3PA/FGA	29.4	258	32.2	139	31.3	220	29.8	67		N/A
A/FGM	64.9	20	41.5	7	53.3	185	52.1	116		N/A

The analysis, in this particular case, is a bit misleading. UK doesn't figure to have nearly as big an advantage in 2-point FG% with Carlos Monroe available, and most of these statistics were compiled with him on the bench. It's also worthy of note that FAU is not a particularly good ball-handling team, so that will likely make the turnover advantage some teams have enjoyed more difficult to come by.

But one area where UK has dominated nearly every opponent they have played is in free throw rate. Free throw rate is a big component of offensive efficiency, and is one reason why this team has been so impressive in that category lately. Getting to the line and making them count is a huge reason why Kentucky's offense has improved.

But the real reason the 'Cats have enjoyed such recent success is their incredible defensive efficiency, currently ranked #15 by Pomeroy. The defensive pressure, particularly against inferior opponents recently, has been incredible. If that continues, I would expect to see another early lopsided score, but keep in mind that UK will h ave to work hard to keep the ball out of the hands of Carlos Monroe. He is a very efficient low-block scorer and is more than skilled enough to score on our front line. He is a talented, dangerous player on an otherwise modest Owl team.

Conclusion

This game looks more like a mismatch than it is, primarily because the Owls have been without their stud forward for most of the season. Gillispie has said this Florida Atlantic team has "underachieved," and he is correct, primarily due to personnel issues. Those issues appear to have been resolved, and that will make FAU a much more dangerous opponent than their success to date would appear to indicate.

The Wildcats take this team for granted at their peril. They have solid back-court players and one very good front-court player. With Monroe, it is my opinion that they are significantly more dangerous than the Hoosiers are this year, and Kentucky must pay attention to their knitting or they will find themselves in a battle.

Go Cats!