FRISCO, Texas — The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team faces the No. 1 seed from the West Division Thursday night at the C-USA Championship tournament.
The Owls are 13-9 overall and the No. 4 seed out of the East Division. Louisiana Tech is 20-6.
The Owls and head coach Dusty May cemented a winning season this past Friday. It’s the third consecutive for May, who is in his third year with the program. This is the first time in the program’s NCAA Division I history that the Owls have put together three straight winning seasons.
Louisiana Tech has won three straight in the series, including a nail-biter the last time the two met in Frisco during the C-USA Championship. Trailing 57-55, the Owls had a 3-point attempt to win that missed, but Karlis Silins drew a foul with one second left with a chance to force overtime. One of his two free throws was good, giving Louisiana Tech the one-point victory.
La Tech leads the all-time series by a 7-2 margin. Both FAU’s victories have come in the friendly confines of Abesinnio Court at FAU Arena.
We’re Going Streaking!
FAU’s current five-game winning streak is the Owls’ longest since 2010-11, when the squad won eight straight from Jan. 3-Jan. 27. FAU swept C-USA regular season series from Southern Miss and MTSU and won its fifth straight Wednesday over UTEP.
Winning In Paradise
FAU has assured itself of three consecutive winning seasons. Dusty May is the first FAU head coach to lead a team to three straight winning seasons in the Olws’ NCAA Division I history. Back in 1992, Tim Loomis coached the Owls to three straight seasons with a winning percentage above .500 while the team was a member of NCAA Division II. The Owls have won five straight headed into the C-USA Championship quarterfinals Thursday, sweeping Southern Miss and MTSU before Wednesday’s win over UTEP.
Shilly Showing Up
Big man Karlis Silins played a huge role in the Owls’ five-game winning streak and has stepped up his play down the stretch. He is averaging 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds during this season-long winning streak and is shooting .619 from the field over the last vie contests. Wednesday’s performance included a career-best 22 points. He has been in double-figure scoring in four of the last five.
Sharing is Caring
Bryan Greenlee is the Owls’ leading playmaker, averaging 2.9 assists per game. He’s also the team’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 10.0 points per game. With his 64 assists and his 77 field goals, Greenlee has directly or indirectly accounted for 22.4 percent of FAU’s made field goals (141-of-629).
