FGCU MBB @ North Alabama Preview

 The FGCU men's basketball team hits the road for an A-SUN Conference clash against North Alabama at 9 p.m. EST Jan. 8 at Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama. The Eagles (5-11, 0-1 A-SUN) are looking to snap a three-game losing skid in a matchup against a Lions (3-13, 0-1 A-SUN) club who joined the league this season.

The game will be as part of a doubleheader as Raining 3s (10-4, 1-0 A-SUN) will play the Lady Lions (10-1, 1-0 A-SUN) at 6 p.m.

Last Time Out:
FGCU opened up A-SUN Conference action with an 81-63 setback to Liberty Saturday night inside Alico Arena. Senior Dinero Mercurius reached the 1,000-point plateau in the contest after scoring five for the Eagles. He now has 1,004 points in his collegiate career between stops at USF, Daytona State and FGCU. Classmate Schadrac Casimir paced the Eagles with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting. He went 5-for-7 from the freethrow line and snapped a string of 21-made free throws that dated back to Dec. 5.

FGCU shot 50 percent (23-for-46) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from behind the 3-point arc and 70.6 percent (12-for-17) at the free-throw line. LU shot 57.4 percent (31-for-54) overall, 50 percent (14-for-28) from distance and 71.5 percent (5-for-7) at the charity stripe.

Scouting North Alabama:
The Lions are currently in its first season as A-SUN members. The Lions enter Tuesday's contest with a 3-13 record, with victories coming over Blue Mountain, Martin Methodist and Huntingdon. They also have narrow losses to Pittsburgh (71-66), UAB (73-67) and UNC Greensboro (53-48). UNA opened conference play with a road loss to North Florida (96-67).

Freshman Jamari Blackmon leads North Alabama in scoring at 16.1 points per game, while senior Kendarius Smith is second on the team in both scoring (11.6) and rebounding (4.5). The leading rebounder currently is Kendall Stafford (5.7). Those three have combined for 45 starts this season.

The Treacherous Non-Conference Slate:
FGCU tallied just a 5-10 record during the non-conference portion of its schedule, but part of that can be attributed to a brutal early-season slate. The Green and Blue entered A-SUN action with the second-highest strength of schedule in the league, which was a mark that also ranked No. 73 in the nation. The top SOS in the league belonged to North Alabama at No. 23 in the nation. Lipscomb had the third-highest strength of schedule among ASUN schools at No. 79 nationally, while Kennesaw State (No. 85) and North Florida (No. 90) rounded out the top five.

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the game and will air livestream on ESPN+. Commentary will be led by Benjamin Ray and Brian Neece. The game can also be heard on the radio station WBCF 97.1 (NewsTalkSports) and 1240 AM.

Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_MBB

UNA: @UNA_MBB

ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or can pay $39.99 per-year based on the viewers subscription choice.

Link to Livestats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/una/stats.htm?eventId=489330&streamType=stats

Link to  Livestream: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/fc794971-4130-44f6-8f49-7cbfa138a145/florida-gulf-coast-vs-north-alabama

Link to Radio Station: http://www.wbcf.com/