GAME THREAD: Elon vs FAU - 12/22/13 @ 1:00 PM
Posted
#324947
(In Topic #45524)
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Member since 2006
What: Elon (6-6) vs FAU (3-9)
When: Sunday, December 22nd @ 1:00 PM
Where: FAU Arena
TV: None
Live Video: Here *FEE
Radio: ESPN 106.3
Live Stats: Here
Phoenix Team Site: Here
Probable Starters:
Elon
G Austin Hamilton 9.3 ppg
G Tanner Samson 13.3 ppg
G Sebastian Koch 13.9 ppg
F Ryley Beaumont 10.6 ppg
F Lucas Troutman 16.2 ppg
FAU
G Marquan Botley 6.4 ppg
G Jackson Trapp 9.8 ppg
G Pablo Bertone 19.9 ppg
F Kelvin Penn 4.9 ppg
C Justin Raffington 8.1 ppg
The series:
Sunday will be the second meeting between the programs. The Phoenix won last year's Maui Invitational Regional contest 62-59 in overtime behind Jack Isenbarger's nine points during the frame. Former Owl Stefan Moody netted 22 points to lead all scorers.
Elon at a Glance:
The Phoenix cashed in for a 126-78 win over unformidable United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) opponent Central Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Elon was paced by Ryley Beaumont's 19 points, and 10 rebounds, while connecting on a robust 58.6% of their attempts from the floor. Sixteen players saw action for the contest, and the points posted were a program record.
The victory snapped a two game slide at the hands of #21 Colorado (80-63) and Georgetown (85-76), but scheduling quickly heats up again beginning Sunday against the Owls before taking on #8 Duke on New Year's Eve in Greensboro, NC.
The Phoenix front court is senior laden, and led by 6-10, 228 lb F Lucas Troutman, who has scored in double figures in eight of Elon's last nine games this season and 37 of the team's last 43 games. Troutman has scored 20 or more points in eight of those contests.
The back court combination of Tanner Samson (42) and Sebastian Koch (39) rank first and second in the Southern Conference in long balls landed. Elon leads the league in three-point field goal percentage at 42.7 percent, and overall made with 117.
Unlike many teams, the squad has seen the same five starters for every single game this season. This really should be no surprise with all of them presenting double figure scoring efforts aside from Hamilton, who is just .7 ppg from joining the ranks.
FAU at a Glance:
Beginning Sunday, the Owls win enjoy an 11-8 split the rest of the way on the home court at FAU Arena. This is obviously good as the team has not won away from Boca Raton (0-8) as of yet.
The pair of immediate home contests in Elon and Warner Southern will pave the way into the conference slate of 2013-14 later in the month. From there out only one non conference game remains as Harvard will pay a visit.
Last Tuesday Stetson struck for the second year in a row in the final ticks to steal a 64-62 win from the Owls. FAU led by as many as eight points, but couldn't establish enough momentum to build upon the advantage.
"We didn't take care for the ball and that was the difference", stated Coach Mike Jarvis. "We had some costly turnovers."
Wing play also continued to struggle, particularly at the hands of shooting guard Jackson Trapp. Trapp is a concerning 2-of-20 overall, and 1-of-10 from long range for the last two contests.
"He's rushing a little bit and probably putting too much pressure on himself to make shots", Jarvis explained. "He had a couple games where he was playing against bigger, more athletic guys, and had a few shots tipped; which messes with your head a little bit. He's just got to slow down."
Picking up part of the slack up top is freshman point D'Andre Johnson, who dropped a career high 13 points against the Hatters.
"He's playing better, he's starting to make some more shots, and that helps. He's doing a good job, and coming along nicely", said Jarvis.
Looking ahead, Florida Atlantic has to find a way to make more shots from beyond the arc, especially considering they are now 0-7 when shooting below the 32.0% threshold. Conversely, holding the opposition back is needed as well, as the Owls are giving up a 35.3% (12th C-USA) success rate. The latter becomes even more important against the Phoenix given their percentage and number of makes per game (9.8).
"There's only a couple games on our schedule where we scheduled down, every other game we scheduled up", Jarvis said of Elon. "This is the type of game you want to play because if you beat them it means you are a pretty good basketball team."
Forward Kelvin Penn ranks third in C-USA in blocked shots with 1.92 per game, and 9th overall in offensive boards with three grabs per contest. As a team, FAU is outproducing teams off the glass by +3.2 rebounds per game.
Latest Line:
Elon -2
Owl's Nest Prediction
Elon enjoys notable advantages in field goal (+7.9%), three point (+10.1%), and free throw shooting (+8.1%).
It could be said that having three cupcakes on the slate contributes to this fact, but when you consider the other outcomes against solid competition, it is easy to see that they are a good ball club.
The Owls will need to play well in all facets to get the win.
Elon -6
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2012
fauowls44 said
We actually scheduled a game on an NFL Sunday at 1pm (and with the Dolphins playing)? Does FAU want nobody to show up at this game??Posted On: Dec 21st 2013, 7:09 PM #324948
I won't be there…Saturday afternoon or night would have changed that. Have to at least give the program a chance to draw attendance and scheduling against the NFL and the Dolphins who are in the playoff hunt for the first time in 5 years is not going to help that.
Now I am sure they will say Elon demanded we play Sunday and the response should have been we cannot play the game when it is economically infeasible.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2012
I believe the first Sunday in February at 6 p.m. would be the perfect time to schedule a home game. It can't lose!
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2003
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Tim FAU98 said
fauowls44 said
We actually scheduled a game on an NFL Sunday at 1pm (and with the Dolphins playing)? Does FAU want nobody to show up at this game??Posted On: Dec 21st 2013, 7:09 PM #324948
I won't be there…Saturday afternoon or night would have changed that. Have to at least give the program a chance to draw attendance and scheduling against the NFL and the Dolphins who are in the playoff hunt for the first time in 5 years is not going to help that.
Now I am sure they will say Elon demanded we play Sunday and the response should have been we cannot play the game when it is economically infeasible.Posted On: Dec 21st 2013, 8:11 PM #324951
Place is a ghost town right now, but Coach Partridge is on hand…just interviewed with Ken for what I believe will be the half time show…
Also former Phin and Owl LB David Hinds is here as well.
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Elon
G Austin Hamilton
G Tanner Samson
G Sebastian Koch
F Ryley Beaumont
F Lucas Troutman
FAU
G Marquan Botley
G Jackson Trapp
G Pablo Bertone
F Kelvin Penn
C Justin Raffington
Posted
Administrator
Member since 2006
Home side, about 200.
Elon has a small contingent here…
Posted
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Member since 2006
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