FGCU MBB/WBB vs Kennesaw Preview

Both FGCU's men's and women's basketball teams continue their dominance in conference play as they prepare for their next conference opponent: Kennesaw State.

Last Time Out for the Women:
The women's team (17-3, 3-0 A-SUN) last played against USC Upstate at home on MLK Day. The Eagles won 93-60 and are currently on a seven-game winning streak.

Key Player(s):
Senior Rose Julien still leads the team in points per game (12.8). Julien had 11 points against Upstate.

Redshirt senior Taylor Grandijan had nine points in the game against Upstate, and with 1,084 career points, Grandijan is still 42 points away from surpassing video coordinator Stephanie Haas (1,135) for seventh all-time. Grandijan is averaging 10 points per game.

Sophomore Nasrin Ulel has also been a key factor in the lineup. Ulel had 14 points against Upstate and is averaging 10.4 points per game

Sophomore Tytionia Adderly remains on the strong end for rebounds. Adderly is averaging 7.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Adderly had six points and seven rebounds with two of being offensive rebounds. Adderly remains eighth all-time in career offensive rebounds (172) and is 12 away from surpassing Courtney Chihil (183) for seventh all-time.

Strong Bench Role:
Redshirt seniors China Dow and Jessica Cattani and redshirt junior Lisa Zderadicka continue to provide numerous amounts of sparks off the bench.

Dow had a double-double in the last game against Upstate with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Louisville native is averaging 10.4 points per game.

Cattani is averaging 7.4 points per game. She finished with four points against Upstate.

Zderadicka is averaging 7.3 points per game and scored 10 points against Upstate.

Scouting Kennesaw's Women's Team:
The Owls (4-10, 0-3 A-SUN) lost all three of their conference games to Lipscomb (62-64) at home and to UNF (72-77) and JU (49-84) in Jacksonville.

Key Player(s):
Leading the Owls on the offensive end is freshman Kamiyah Street. Street is averaging 16.4 points per game and leads the team in steals. Street scored 16 points against Lipscomb, 26 against UNF and 15 against JU.

Another player on the offensive end is sophomore Carlotta Gianolla. Gianolla is averaging 9.9 points per game. The Marcon, Italy native scored 17 against Lipscomb, nine against UNF and 10 against JU.

Defensively, freshman Alexis Poole lead the way. Poole is averaging 9.6 points per game and leads the team in blocks.

Series History:
The Eagles are 20-2 against Kennesaw, including postseason. The Eagles swept the series last year against the Owls winning 75-56 at Kennesaw and 69-35 at home. The Owls last win against the Eagles was on February 14, 2011 where they won 63-52.

Last Time Out for the Men:
For the men's team (13-8, 4-0 A-SUN), the last time out was on the road against Lipscomb. After being down 40-48 in the first half and being behind by as much as 18 points, the Eagles clawed their way to an 88-83 come-from-behind win.

Redshirt senior Brandon Goodwin and redshirt junior Zach Johnson continue to lead the fray offensively. Goodwin is averaging 17.4 points per game while Johnson is averaging 14 points per game. In the game against Lipscomb, Goodwin had 22 points while Johnson had 14 points.

Another player that has developed a hot hand is redshirt junior Dinero Mercurius. Mercurius is averaging 8.8 points per game and continues shooting the long ball from behind the arc. Mercurius had 12 points against Lipscomb.

Going back and forth between starter and bench role, senior Christian Terrell has made impact from both ends. Terrell played on the bench and scored eight points. Terrell is averaging 11.8 points per game.

Bench Role:
The players that developed strongly off the bench include redshirt senior Antravious Simmons and sophomore Christian Carlyle.

After make his return from a foot injury, Simmons scored 11 points in the game against Lipscomb. Simmons is averaging 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Carlyle is averaging 5.8 points per game and had five points against Lipscomb.

Scouting Kennesaw's Men's Team:
The Owls' men's team (5-14, 1-3 A-SUN) recently competed against Stetson winning 95-81. However, they lost to Lipscomb (71-86), JU (58-65) and UNF (78-85) in the first three games.

Key Player(s):
Sophomore James Scott leads the way offensively for the Owls. Scott is averaging 16.8 points per game. In all four conference games, Scott scored 15 points against Lipscomb and UNF, six against JU and 32 against Stetson.

Two other players on the offensive end include senior Nick Masterson and redshirt sophomore Tyler Hooker.

Masterson is averaging 13.7 points per game and in all four conference games, he scored 17 against Lipscomb, eight against JU, 24 against UNF and 28 against Stetson.

Hooker is averaging 11.2 points per game. In all four conference games, Hooker has scored seven against Lipscomb, 16 against JU, five against UNF and six against Stetson.

Series History:
FGCU is 16-6 against Kennesaw. The Eagles swept the Owls in the season series winning 78-75 at Kennesaw and 75-63 at home. The Eagles also beat the Owls in the semifinals of the A-SUN Conference Tournament winning 74-62. Kennesaw's last win was on February 10, 2011 where the Owls swept the series winning 81-70 at FGCU and 69-68 at home.

Both games will be on ESPN livestream on February 20. The women will play first at 2 PM and the men will follow at 4:30 PM.