| 2/21/2024 | Men’s Basketball BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic’s men’s basketball team will host SMU at the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Thursday, Feb. 22. Tip off will be at 7 p.m. and aired on ESPN2.The Owls will look to extend their home winning streak to 10 games. Over the last two seasons, they hold a 27-1 record at the Elly. It will be a “sandstorm” game with a sand-colored t-shirt filling every seat in the arena thanks to Shiner Law Group. For more details, click HERE. FAU begins their final stretch of the regular season against an SMU team that is right with them in the conference standings at 10-3. Unlike many other teams in the American Athletic Conference, there is almost no history between these two programs with only two matchups to their name, last in 1998. Florida Atlantic (20-6, 10-3 AAC) vs. SMU (19-7, 10-3 AAC) Game Details Thursday, Feb. 22 | 7 p.m. (EST) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena | Boca Raton, Fla. Game Coverage Live Stats | ESPN2 | Game Notes | FoxSports 640am South Florida Florida Atlantic Links Roster | Schedule | News SMU Links Roster | Schedule | News Social Media X | Instagram | Facebook LAST TIME OUT Florida Atlantic almost achieved a comeback for the ages on Feb. 18 against USF (19-5, 12-1 AAC). Trailing by 25 points with just eight minutes remaining, the Owls came storming back to bring the score within one point. Overall, they finished the game on a 41-20 run but came up just short by a score of 90-86, losing to a Bulls team that has won 11 consecutive games. Junior center Vlad Goldin tied his career high with 23 points, scoring 15 in the second half on 6-for-7 shooting. STATS & NOTES Despite the loss, Goldin became the 18th Owl the 1,000 points club with 1,003 of his 1,022 points coming during his time at FAU. He joins fellow teammates junior guard Alijah Martin as well as junior guard Johnell Davis and senior guard Bryan Greenlee, the latter two also achieving the accolade this season Davis continued his streak of 19 straight games scoring in double figures with 20 against USF. It was his 10th game of the season with 20+ points after entering the year with only four such games in his career With 50% shooting as a team, it marked their 10th such occurrence of the season Out of 14 AAC teams, the Owls rank second in points per game (83.4), field goal percentage (48.1%), and assists per game (15.3) Their 83.4 points per game ranks 18th nationwide Redshirt sophomore guard Nick Boyd, who has made a three-point shot in nine consecutive games, has hit six total in the last two The Mustangs are one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking 16th nationwide in field goal percentage allowed (39.8) SMU leads the conference in assists per game (16.7) Their offense is led by junior guard Zhuric Phelps averaging 14.7 points per game UP NEXT The Owls will hit the road on Sunday, Feb. 25 for a matchup against new conference rival Memphis (18-8, 7-6 AAC). This will be their first rematch since the 2023 NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 that gave the Owls their first March Madness win in program history. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN. 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 2023-24 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura. |
