| 11/14/2024 | Men’s Basketball CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team’s lengthy road trip will park in Charleston, South Carolina, to participate in two multi-team events. First up is the Field of 68 Tip-Off, with the Owls taking on host Charleston on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. and Liberty on Saturday, Nov. 16 with a 6 p.m. tip-off. Exclusive coverage can be found on the Field of 68’s YouTube channel. This will mark the second of a three-year round robin that saw FAU host the inaugural edition at the Eleanor R. Baldwin in 2023, sweeping Charleston and Liberty. The Cougars will hold this year’s at the TD Arena, with the Flames scheduled to host in 2025. Florida Atlantic (2-1) at Field of 68 Tip-Off Game Details TD Arena, Charleston, S.C. | Charleston: Nov. 15 | 7 p.m. Liberty: Nov. 16 | 6 p.m. Game Coverage Streaming for Charleston: YouTube Streaming for Liberty: YouTube Live Stats | Game Notes Florida Atlantic Links News | Roster | Schedule Charleston Links News | Roster | Schedule Liberty Links News | Roster | Schedule LAST TIME OUT After a 2-0 start to the season, Florida Atlantic fell to UCF, 100-94, in their first official road game of the 2024-25 campaign. The Owls and the Knights traded buckets and double-digit leads before the home team pulled away in the second half. For the third straight game, five FAU players scored in double figures, led by junior guard Leland Walker, scoring 20 points, with all of them coming in the 20 minutes. ABOUT THE OWLS Head Coach John Jakus enters his first season at the helm of the Owls Florida Atlantic is off to a strong scoring start, scoring 290 total points, which ranks fifth in the nation. They have reached the 90+ mark in each of their first three games, the first time the program has done so since their inaugural season in 1988 Of the team’s nine players who have logged minutes in all three games, eight of them are averaging at least nine points per game. The current scoring leader is sophomore forward Kaleb Glenn at 14.7 ppg The Owls are ranked No. 17 nationally in points per game (96.7), fourth in steals per game (14.0), 10th in fastbreak points per game (25.00), tied for 25th in assists per game (20.3), and tied for 26th in bench ppg (40.3) As a team, FAU was ranked fifth in the American Athletic Conference’s Preseason Coaches’ poll. Graduate guard KyKy Tandy was named to the preseason All-AAC Second Team ABOUT THE COUGARS Chris Mack enters his first season as head coach for Charleston and his 14th overall at the helm of a program. He has 280 career victories and nine NCAA Tournament appearances to his name The Cougars have jumped to a 2-0 start to the season with double-digit victories over Southern Illinois and South Florida Senior forward Ante Brzovic has been one of the early top players in the 2024-25 campaign, ranking second in the nation, averaging 30.5 points per game on 63.9% shooting from the field Charleston has made two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances The Cougars currently hold the series over the Owls at 9-1, with their first loss coming in the 2023 Field of 68 Tip-Off ABOUT THE FLAMES Ritchie McKay has had 12 total seasons across two stints as Liberty’s head coach and is entering his 10th consecutive campaign leading the program The Flames have started the season 3-0 Redshirt senior guard Kaden Metheny is the team’s top scorer thus far, averaging 15.5 points per game Liberty is holding teams to just 57.3 ppg, currently the 24th best scoring defense in the nation FAU currently leads the series 2-1 UP NEXT The Owls will remain at the TD Arena to participate in the eight-team 2024 Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, hosted by ESPN. Florida Atlantic’s first opponent will be Oklahoma State (3-0) with their matchup set for Thursday, Nov. 21, at 2:30 p.m. Games will follow on Nov. 22 and Nov. 24. FOLLOW THE OWLS To stay up to date on all things FAU men’s basketball, follow the Owls on social media @FAUMBB. Florida Atlantic’s 2024-25 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura. |
