FGCU MBB vs UNF Preview

The FGCU men's basketball team (14-8, 5-0 A-SUN) will wrap up their three-game road trip at Jacksonville and face UNF (9-13, 3-2 A-SUN). The Eagles are looking to extend their winning streak to eight in a row and remain in sole possession of 1st place in the A-SUN standings.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles started their three-game road against Lipscomb and Kennesaw. In the game against Lipscomb, the Eagles were down by eight in the first half and were behind by as much as 18 points, but bounced with a 88-83 come-from-behind win. They then traveled to Kennesaw and had no problem beating the Owls 66-49.

Mr. 1,000:
During the game against Kennesaw, redshirt senior Brandon Goodwin sealed the deal by becoming the 10th player in program history to reach 1,000 points. Goodwin, who was named A-SUN Player of the Week, scored 22 points against Lipscomb and 18 against Kennesaw. The Norcross, Georgia native is averaging 17.5 points per game overall and 17.2 in conference and leads the team in rebounds per game (5.7). The last players that recently joined the 1,000 point club were senior Christian Terrell (8th) and redshirt junior Zach Johnson (9th).

Impactful Players:
Aside from Goodwin, Johnson and Terrell have been strong keys to the game.

Johnson is averaging 14.1 points per game overall and 17.2 in conference. Johnson had 14 against Lipscomb and 17 against Kennesaw.

Terrell began the season majorly as a starter before transitioning to bench role. Terrell is averaging 11.4 points per game overall and 6.8 in conference. Terrell had eight points against Lipscomb and four against Kennesaw.

Redshirt junior Dinero Mercurius made impact as a starter. Beginning off the bench, Mercurius started all five conference games and made a big difference in the lineup. The Orlando native, who is averaging 8.5 point per game overall and 8.8 in conference, had 12 points against Lipscomb before being held to three against Kennesaw.

Hometown Hero:
Freshman Brian Thomas played strongly in the game against Kennesaw, which is where he is from. Thomas, who missed several games due to an injury on his non-shooting hand, had nine points and eight rebounds in his hometown of Kennesaw, Georgia.

Scouting UNF:
The Ospreys had the toughest schedule for non-conference playing Power 5 teams such Michigan and Michigan State from the Big Ten Conference, Miami from the ACC and LSU from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Last time out, The Ospreys beat Upstate 100-80.

Sophomore Ivan Gandia-Rosa leads the team offensively. Gandia-Rosa, a transfer from NJCAA College of Central Florida (CCF), leads the team with 14.2 points per game. In the game against Upstate, Gandia-Rosa finished with a double-double of 13 points and 13 assists. Gandia-Rosa also leads the team in assists (119) and assists per game (5.4).

Sophomore Garrett Sams is scoring 12.4 points per game (second on the team). Garrett scored 19 points against Upstate.

As far as newcomers, sophomore Noah Horchler is scoring 10.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounds per game (8). Horchler, a transfer from NJCAA Eastern Florida State College, had a double-double of a season-high 31 points and 12 rebounds against Upstate.

Series History:
Overall, the Eagles are 16-10 against UNF. Last series, the Eagles swept the Ospreys winning 86-82 at UNF, 74-59 at FGCU and 77-61 in the A-SUN Conference Tournament Championship. The Ospreys last win was on January 30, 2016 where they beat the Eagles 82-76.

The game will be on Wednesay, January 24 at 7 PM and be livestream on ESPN 3.

Link: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3245196/florida-gulf-coast-vs-north-florida-m-basketball