GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
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What: Florida Atlantic (2-3) vs Hofstra (2-1)
When: Tuesday, Nov. 22nd @ 7:00 PM EST
Where: Mack Sports Complex
TV: None
Live Video: Pride Zone (fee)
Internet Broadcast: Here
Live Stats: Here
Hofstra Team Site: Here
Probable Starters:
FAU
G Ray Taylor 7.8 ppg, 4.4 apg
G Greg Gantt 13.4 ppg, 40.0% 3PT
G Pablo Bertone 9.6 ppg, 56.3% FG
F Kelvin Penn 2.8 ppg, 2.8 bpg
F Kore White 11.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Hofstra
G Stevie Mejia 8.3 ppg
G Mike Moore 20.7 ppg
F David Imes 10.3 ppg
F Nathaniel Lester 19.3 ppg
C Moussa Kone 2.0 ppg
The series
11/27/96 H L 61-65
12/13/98 A L 62-71
11/21/00 H L 67-87
11/17/01 A L 65-67
12/29/09 H L 63-67
12/11/10 A W 63-59
Hofstra enjoys a 5-1 lead in the all-time series. The Owls finally had the better "hand" in last years contest, sliding by the Pride with a 63-59 win behind 7-of-12 (58.3%) clip from down town. Charles Jenkins gave FAU defensive fits en route to a staggering 32 point performance to lead all scorers.
FAU at a Glance
Florida Atlantic moved their overtime mark to 6-3 over the last five seasons with a 80-75 extra period affair over George Mason last Saturday before a packed house at FAU Arena.
The Owls have now recorded more assists than their opponents through the first 5 games of the year. This makes for a brand of basketball that is both exciting to watch and will keep folks coming back for more as the year progresses.
"The people who were in the building certainly got their money's worth," said head coach Mike Jarvis.
After an up and down and inconsistent affair last year, junior forward Kore White has now been in double figures each of the Owls five games. But one of the biggest contributions as of late has been the scoring of freshman Omari Grier, who notched his third straight double figure showing. Coach Mike Jarvis had more good things to say about Grier afterwards.
"He’s one of our most consistent three point shooters," said Jarvis. "There’s probably not a better first year shooting guard in the country than Omari Grier."
"We had a rough trip (to Seattle) but coach said to keep fighting", said Grier of the win. "We just listened to coach and did everything he wanted us to do and that is why we came out successful tonight."
It should be safe to say at this point that Florida Atlantic is as deep as they have ever been since becoming a team back in 1990-91. Twelve players saw time on Saturday night, nine scored points, and 10 recorded at least one rebound. This will continue to play its hand in contest results moving forward and offer the Owls a definitive edge.
"Very few teams in the country are going to be able to have 10 guys play 10 minutes or more in a ball game", said Jarvis.
"We are rotating the lineup", said junior guard Pablo Bertone who posted a career high 12 points against the Patriots while getting his first start of the year. "Everybody contributes. We are going to be a tough team to beat."
Freshman forward Kelvin Penn is currently tied for 5th nationally in total blocked shots (14). The Owls are tied with Denver for tops in the Sun Belt with 6.0 dismissals per outing.
Hofstra at a Glance
The Pride represent the second straight Colonial Athletic Conference opponent for the Owls. Hofstra finished up last season with a successful overall mark of 21-12, and a 14-4 tally in conference action; good enough for an appearance in the College Basketball Invitational. However, with some key losses, they were tabbed to wind up 8th in the league's preseason poll for 2011-12.
With the departure of former guard Charles Jenkins (22.6 ppg 2010-11), the Pride has shifted its attack to a primarily front court based plan which has promoted forward David Imes and welcomes back 6-5 forward Nathaniel Lester.
Lester posted marks of 8.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg in 2008-08, but sat out last season due to injury. Imes only posted four points in 26 minutes of action last year against the Owls, but led the team with 6.8 grabs. He's doing more of the same this season through three contests at 5.7 boards per outing, and is currently tied with returning 6-5 guard Mike Moore. Moore has upped his production, presents some notable mismatches for smaller defenders, and was recently named to the preseason all-conference second team.
However, it should be noted that all three of the play makers rely on the foul line for a significant chunk (43-151, 28.4%) of their overall point tally. And looking at overall point production in more detail, the one-two-punch of Moore and Lester have combined for 120 of the Pride's 224 total points (54%). Generally speaking, they are going to go as far as these two can take them.
Latest Line:
HU -2
Owl's Nest Prediction
With the Pride relying so heavily on a core group, the Owls will win the fatigue battle if present. However, Hofstra is a solid team at the line - getting there often - while FAU has found it to be a continued nemesis.
This will be another one of those games with a tweener guard and forward that Florida Atlantic finds it hard to contain as well. Expect a close game, with FAU coming away with a low single digit win if they shoot the ball reasonably well and rebound the way they should.
FAU -3
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2005
Re: Game Preview: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
I'm a complete bum, I'm flying from Chicago to NY tomorrow and completely skipped my mind that they were playing this game. I definitely would've gone a day earlier and gone to the game.
Hofstra's gym is exactly what FAU needs. Its one of the nicer mid-major gym's I know of.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2006
Re: Game Preview: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
My two favorite teams are FAU, and who ever is beating FIU!
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2007
Re: Game Preview: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
It's Owl Time!
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Re: GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
PowerOwl said
owls win by 6 - you heard it here first.
Like your attitude!
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Re: GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
FAU
G Ray Taylor
G Greg Gantt
G Pablo Bertone
F Kelvin Penn
F Kore White
Hofstra
G Stevie Mejia
G Mike Moore
F David Imes
F Nathaniel Lester
C Moussa Kone
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Re: GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Re: GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
FAU 6 HU 7
Pride currently on a 5-0 run…
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Re: GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
FAU 13 HU 12
Owls answer after falling behind by three…
Still showing some long range prowess at 60% (3-of-5)
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2007
Re: GAME THREAD: FAU @ Hofstra - 11/22/11 @ 7:00PM
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