FGCU Basketball vs JU Preview

Continuing in A-SUN Conference play, the FGCU men's and women's basketball teams prepare for a doubleheader as they both will play Jacksonville.

Last Time Out for the Women:
The women's team (19-3, 5-0 A-SUN) completed a two-game road trip as they faced Kennesaw and Lipscomb before coming back home. The Eagles would beat Kennesaw 78-57 before concluding the road trip with a 68-54 win over Lipscomb. As a result, the Eagles are currently on a nine-game winning streak.

Senior Rose Julien continues to lead the way offensively. Julien is averaging 12.9 points per game and free throw percentage (.846). Julien had 19 points against Kennesaw and 12 against Lipscomb. In fact, Julien has scored at least 10 points in all five conference games.

Sophomore Tytionia Adderly continues to be the main rebounder of the team. Adderly is averaging 7.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. In her game against Kennesaw, Adderly was held scoreless, but managed to grab 10 rebounds with nine of them offensively. Against Lipscomb, Adderly had her third double-double of the season and seventh in her career as she finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, four of them being offensive. Adderly surpassed Courtney Chihil (183) for seventh all-time in career offensive rebounds (185). Adderly is two offensive rebounds away from surpassing Kaneisha Atwater (186) for sixth all-time.

Redshirt senior Taylor Grandijan is averaging 10.2 points per game. Grandijan had 12 points in both games against Kennesaw and Lipscomb. The rare sixth-year senior has 1,108 points and 269 3-pointers made. Grandijan is 28 away from surpassing current video coordinator Stephanie Haas (1,135) for seventh all-time in career points and 26 3-pointers away from surpassing WNBA player Whitney Knight (294) for second all-time in career 3-pointers.

Grandijan vs Adderly, Battle of Rebounds:
This season was a battle of career rebounds. Grandijan has 452 career rebounds and is sixth all-time while Adderly is seventh all-time with 447 total career rebounds. Both players are neck and neck with each other in the same category, and are on a pace to surpass Atwater (508) for fifth all-time in career rebounds. Grandijan is 57 away from surpassing while Adderly is 62 away.

Bench Role Sparks:
Remaining as the key sparks off the bench are redshirt seniors Jessica Cattani and China Dow and redshirt junior Lisa Zderadicka.

Cattani, who was supposed to originally be a starter for the season, has been strong off the bench. Cattani is averaging 7.4 points per game. She scored nine points against Kennesaw and five against Lipscomb.

Dow is second on the team in points per game (10.4) and has been a key role for the bench. Dow had 10 points each against Kennesaw and Lipscomb, and in the game against Lipscomb, the Louisville native added 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Zderadicka is averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 assists per game. The Vienna, Austria native and Houston Baptist transfer had 11 points against Kennesaw before being held to four points against Lipscomb.

Scouting Lady Dolphins:
The Lady Dolphins (15-5, 5-0 A-SUN) recently completed a two-game road trip as they defeated NJIT (88-58) and Upstate (71-45).

Junior Jasmyn Brown leads the team offensively. Brown is averaging 13.9 points. During the road games, Brown scored 19 points against NJIT and Upstate.

Senior Brandi Buie is averaging 12.3 points per game and against NJIT and Upstate, Buie scored 14 points against NJIT and 16 against Upstate.


Series History:
FGCU is 20-3 against JU. The last series, FGCU split the season series with JU winning 60-57 at home and losing 65-73 at JU. FGCU did defeat JU in the A-SUN Conference tournament semifinals by a score of 68-64.

Last Time Out for the Men:
The men's team (15-8, 6-0 A-SUN) recently completed a three-game road trip for conference play. The Eagles beat Lipscomb (88-83), Kennesaw (66-49) and UNF (96-87). Currently, the Eagles are in sole possession of first place in conference and are on a eight-game winning streak.

During the game against UNF, the Eagles played without redshirt senior Brandon Goodwin and redshirt junior Ricky Doyle as they sat out as a coach's decision.

Redshirt junior Zach Johnson led the way offensively against UNF scoring 19 points. Johnson is averaging 14.3 points per game. In the games against Lipscomb and Kennesaw, Johnson scored 14 against Lipscomb and 17 against Kennesaw.

Redshirt junior Dinero Mercurius has been a big factor since being in the starting lineup. Despite being held to three points against Kennesaw, the Orlando native and triple transfer scored 12 against Lipscomb and 16 against UNF. The majority of his point came from behind the 3-point line. Mercurius is averaging 8.9 points per game.

Senior Christian Terrell is averaging 11.2 points per game.

"Big" Improvements:
The big men have improved a lot better since finishing non-conference and getting stronger with rebounds.

Redshirt senior Antravious Simmons started against UNF replacing Doyle. Simmons scored 11 against Lipscomb and nine against Kennesaw and UNF. Simmons is averaging seven points per game.

Despite scoring 2.1 points per game, redshirt sophomore Brady Ernst had his best game against UNF scoring a season-high 10 points with seven rebounds.

Since returning from a broken hand, freshman Brian Thomas has made a strong comeback. Thomas is averaging 3.6 points per game, but in the game against Kennesaw, Thomas' hometown, he scored nine points against the Owls and against UNF, scored seven points.

Scouting JU Men's Team:
The Dolphins (11-12, 5-1 A-SUN) are currently in second place in conference. JU recently competed against Stetson as they beat the Hatters 76-69.

Leading the Dolphins offensively are junior Jace Hogan and freshman JD Notae.

Hogan is averaging 16.2 points per game and scored 17 against Stetson.

Notae is scoring 16.1 points per game and scored 21 against Stetson.

Series History:
FGCU is 10-11 against JU. Last season series, FGCU swept the series winning 78-56 at home and 67-57 at JU. JU's last win against FGCU was on February 1, 2016 as the Dolphins 83-80.

Both games will be played on Saturday, January 27 and aired on ESPN 3. The women will play at 4 pm and the men will play at 7 pm, and are dubbed as a red out as a way to benefiting the American Heart & Stroke Association, so marketing is encouraging fans to wear red to both games.

In addition, it will be recognition for five seniors on the cheerleading squad and two on the Dancing E'Gals: Patrick Natali, Zahra Fayad, Brittany Borman, Bailey Spenlau and Jessica Gorman from cheerleading and Jaime Garcia and Amanda Wakeman from the E'Gals.