FAU Men’s Basketball is doing well

The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team will look to move to 2-0 in Conference USA action Thursday at Middle Tennessee State University. The Owls will also be looking for their fifth straight win over the Blue Raiders when they invade the Murphy Center.

Thursday’s game is slated for a 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET tipoff. The game will be heard in the South Florida area on Fox Sports 640 AM and can be viewed on ESPN+.


FAU comes into the game off a 90-77 road win over Marshall. The Owls are 8-6 overall and 1-0 in C-USA action. Middle Tennessee State is 9-6 overall, but has an 0-2 mark in league action, with road losses to Rice and North Texas.

The last matchup between FAU and MTSU was a 63-54 victory at The Burrow for the Owls. In that most recent meeting, FAU raced out to a big early lead (41-22 at halftime) and held off the Blue Raiders in the second half. Michael Forrest scored 16 and hit 4 3-pointers in the victory.

The last time the Blue Raiders and Owls clashed in Murfreesboro was back in January of 2019, with FAU taking a 63-56 win to start its current four-game winning streak over MTSU.

The Owls will remain on the road and wrap up a three-game road swing following the contest with MTSU. FAU is slated to face off with UAB Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET in Birmingham.

Offensive rebounding has been a point of emphasis for the Owls the last two seasons, and the message has been received. FAU averaged 12.5 offensive boards per game, which ranked No. 1 in C-USA and No. 29 in the nation last year. Through 14 games this season, FAU is No. 3 in CUSA and No. 68 in the nation at 11.9 offensive rebounds per game.

FAU also ended last year No. 1 in C-USA and No. 13 in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.8). The Owls are currently No. 1 in CUSA and No. 54 in the nation at +5.7. In all but two games this year, FAU has outrebounded the opposition. FAU has owned the edge by 10 or more five times, with a high of +17 (at UNM).

FAU ranks No. 3 in Conference USA and No. 64 in the nation in 3-point field goals per game. The Owls are averaging 9.0 triples per contest and are converting at a rate of .346 from behind the arc (7th – CUSA, 146th – NCAA DI).

Michael Forrest is one of the most top 3-point shooters in Conference USA. He’s currently No. 1 in the league and 45th in the nation in 3-pointers per game (2.93), No. 1 in CUSA in 3-pointers attempted (112). His .366 percentage. from beyond the arc is No. 4 in C-USA and No. 94 in the nation.

Forrest scored 27 points, including 6 3-point field goals, against Marshall on Saturday. It was the 15th time he has scored 20+ points in his FAU career and the 6th time has has made 5 or more triples. Forrest has hit at least one 3-pointer in 88 of 102 career games and has made at least one in 64 of 69 games over the past three seasons.

At 207 career 3-point field goals, he sits third all-time in FAU history.

Bryan Greenlee was credited with 10 assists in Saturday’s win over Marshall. It was the first time an Owl has dished out 10 or more dimes since Alex Tucker recorded 10 helpers nearly 9 years ago.

Greenlee is averaging 4.5 assists per game, ranking him No. 5 in C-USA and No. 81 in tha nation.

Further, the third-year sophomore leads C-USA in assist/turnover ratio at +2.52, which also slots him No. 44 in DI. He has had 5+ assists in 8 of his 36 career games at FAU.