| BOCA RATON — The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball team opens up the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Basketball Championship tournament Wednesday evening with a matchup vs. UTEP. The Owls are 12-9 overall and finished 7-5 in C-USA action, while UTEP is 12-11, 8-8. 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. FAU earned the No. 3 seed in the East Division, while UTEP is the No. 4 seed out of the West. The two squads did not face off during the regular season, due to a Covid-related cancellation. The winner of this matchup will face the West No. 1 seed, Louisiana Tech Thur FAU leads the all-time series between the two teams by a slim, 5-4 margin. The Owls have won the last four matchups with the Miners. This will be the first FAU-UTEP hardwood meeting on a neutral floor. Trending Upward 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 Owls’ 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 four straight headed into the C-USA Championship tournament, sweeping Southern Miss on the road and MTSU at home. Cleaning the Glass Offensive rebounding has been a point of emphasis for the Owls. The message has been received. FAU averaged 12.67 offensive boards per game coming into the weekend, which ranks No. 1 in Conference USA and No. 23 in the nation. The Owls hold an edge in second-chance points in 17 of 20 games this season. FAU was also No. 1 in C-USA and No. 12 in the nation in rebound margin (+8.5). Forrest for the Threes Michael Forrest is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in Conference USA. The junior guard is No. 5 in the league and No. 42 in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game, averaging 2.71 per contest. He is No. 5 in the conference and No. 56 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at .383. His 159 career 3-point field goals made currently ranks No. 8 on the FAU all-time chart. Forrest is the No. 2-ranked scorer on the team, averaging 12.1 points per game. Ingram Finds A Way Jailyn Ingram has struggled with injuries during his FAU career. He’s been dealing with a few nagging injuries down the stretch this season. Head coach Dusty May has said Ingram needs to play “old man ball” to avoid injury, heading into the C-USA Tournament. Ingram has been coming off the bench and adapting to the change in role. At Southern Miss, he scored 12 points in each game of the sweep, hitting huge 3-pointers in both games. Against Middle Tennessee last weekend, his scoring dipped, but he grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds vs. the Blue Raiders on Friday. Ingram has scored in double digits in 11 of his 18 outings. He has six 20-point performances this season. Ingram has 10 double-doubles for his career. He is the most prolific current Owl in the category of double-doubles. |
