FGCU MBB @ VCU Preview

Coming off a thrilling 72-70 overtime win at home against FAU on Wednesday, the FGCU men's basketball team (1-4) hits the road to face #19 VCU (4-0) in Richmond, Va., on Saturday night (7 PM). The game will be televised regionally on MASN and streamed via ESPN+.

The match-up marks the first time the two teams have met since 2012 and is also the first time the Eagles have played a ranked team this year with the Rams checking in at No. 21 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.

It is also the second time this season for FGCU to take on a team from the Atlantic 10. The Eagles opened the year at defending league champion Saint Louis.

In Wednesday's win at Alico Arena, junior Jalen Warren hit a floater in the lane just before the clock hit zero in overtime to seal a furious comeback win. The Eagles trailed by as many as 19 points in the game, but used a 41-point second half to force the extra session. Warren finished with a game-high and season-high 21 points with his game-winning bucket the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter.

Four Eagles, including Warren, finished the FAU game in double figures. Freshman Dakota Rivers scored a season-high 13 points, while sophomore Zach Scott tallied 11. Sophomore Caleb Catto netted 10 points to round out the top scorers.

The win was much needed after a tough opening stretch to the season which saw FGCU logging the frequent flier mileage. The Eagles have traveled to the Midwest, covered nearly 95 percent of the Eastern Seaboard with the trip to Dartmouth and still have a cross country flight (2,650 miles) to USC later this season.

Scott continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 15.6 points per game with Catto just behind with 12.6 points per outing - also a career-best mark. After leading the way in the win over FAU, Warren is now averaging 10.2 points per game which is third-best on the team.

After a slow start to the year, Rivers has had a breakout stretch in the last two games averaging 12 points after scoring seven total in the first three contests. Junior Sam Gagliardi has averaged 10.5 points over the last two games as well thanks to a combined 7-of-17 shooting from deep. Gagliardi opened the first three games going 3-of-16 and averaging 4.3 per game.

Of the four loses, UMBC and Dartmouth were by a combined 10 points with the Eagles in a spot to lead or tie the game late. In each of those games, FGCU played solid defensively overall holding each team to a combined 34.8 percent from the floor which would have ranked 37th nationally going into the Mercer game.

Scouting VCU:
VCU is 4-0 on the year including a three-point win over North Texas, an 84-82 win over No. 23 LSU and a 93-65 win over Jacksonville State.

Marcus Santos-Silva anchors the Rams averaging a double-double with 12.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Marcus Evans is the team's leading scorer at 12.5 points, while De'Riante Jenkins is averaing 10.8 points.

In the win over Jacksonville State, VCU forced 21 turnovers and had six players in double-figures. The Rams shot 57.6 percent for the game and built out a 43-24 lead after the first half.

The Eagles will return home next week to host the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic at Alico Arena during the Thanksgiving break. The action starts on Tuesday against Florida Tech (7 PM) before hosting North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.