By PAUL GOTHAM
DAYTON, OH — Twelve days ago FGCU took down North Florida’s Ospreys in the Atlantic Sun semi-finals. Joe Dooley’s squad held the No. 1-seed Ospreys nearly 30 points under their season average. Of UNF’s five double-digit scorers, only two managed to score ten or more.
FGCU (20-13/8-6 ASun) will need a similar effort Tuesday night when they square off with the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (18-14/11-7 NEC) in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four at University of Dayton Arena.
“When you look at how aggressive they are, they put up points, especially in transition,” Dooley said during Monday’s press conference. “Very good in the half court, off ball screen situations. They’ve got five guys that essentially score most of their points.”
Where North Florida did most of their damage from long range (number one the country with 402 3-pointers made), FDU attacks from inside as well as outside.
While Darian Anderson (33.6 percent/46-137 3-pointers) and Earl Potts Jr. (39.7 percent/62-156) can connect from 3-point range, 6-7 freshman Mike Holloway averages 9.6 in the paint. Stephan Jiggetts (11.2 ppg) and Marques Townes (11.4) give the Knights five scorers averaging nine points or more.
“They can hurt you on the inside with Holloway,” Dooley added. “But they can also spread you out and shoot the ball from the perimeter with guys like Potts, and Anderson can do a bunch of different things.
“Very good driving downhill,” Dooley said of Fairleigh Dickinson’s attack. “Greg (Herenda) has done a good job giving those young guys confidence…All those guys are all guys that can hurt you in a bunch of different ways.”
After losing three straight and four of five, FDU brings a five-game winning streak into Tuesday’s night matchup.
“They’re definitely similar to some of the teams we’ve played in our conference,” FGCU’s Julian DeBose said. “Like to get up and down, drive the ball, shoot a lot of 3s. Credit to them. They had a great run at the end of the season just as we did and we’re just glad to be here, be able to compete.”
Marc Eddy Norelia (17.2 ppg) leads a FGCU squad which has scored 50 or more points in the paint on four occasions this season. The Eagles have gotten the better of their opponents in the paint in 18 of their last 20 games.
Christian Terrell (12.6 ppg), Zach Johnson (11.2), DeBose (8.6) and Antravious Simmons (7.7) give Dooley plenty of scoring options.
“It’s an exciting time,” Dooley said. “It’s something we worked for all year. I think the guys are fired up about being here. And it’s a great experience for our program.”
The winner of this game will face No. 1 seed North Carolina on Thursday.
FGCU earned the moniker, “Dunk City” in 2013 when as No. 15 seed they upset Georgetown and San Diego State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. They earned an NIT berth in 2014 and CIT bid in 2015. FGCU has only been eligible for Division I post-season play since 2011-12.
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