What: FAU vs Tulane
When: Wednesday, January 15th, 7:30 PM
Where: Devlin Field House, New Orleans LA
Series: Tulane leads 5-2
TV: ESPN +
Radio: Fox 640
Live Stats: Stats broadcast
Line: FAU -1.5
Owls at a Glance
Offense – 81.9 PPG, 46.2% FG, 34.9% 3PT
Defense – 77.6 PPGA, 43.9% FGA, 39.0% 3PTA
Rebounding – 37.0 RPG Owls, 38.1 RPG Opponents
FAU Notes
FAU Men’s Basketball is back in action on Wednesday evening as they head to Tulane for a road battle with the Green Wave. The Owls 2 game winning streak was snapped in their last one as they lost a tightly contested battle to UAB at home and they will be looking to bounce back on the road, something they have been able to do quite effectively during conference play.
It was a tough loss for the Owls as they showed a lot of fight to battle back from 12 down in the second half, however they were unable to convert from the field over the final 4 minutes and in the end they fell short. On a positive note the Owls showed a continued improvement on the glass, as they out rebounded UAB on both ends of the court and after almost losing to ECU because of poor rebounding, they seemed to have turned a corner in that department.
FAU continues to improve with each game that they play together, however there are still occasional struggles in certain aspects and against UAB, outside of questionable shot selection late, the Owls had 11 turnovers on the day which the Blazers were able to consistently turn into points. This has been a squad that has been able to make adjustments quickly and following the matchup with UAB, the Owls will look to improve their ball handling and late game execution against Tulane.
The one department FAU has struggled to improve in this season has been their 3 point defense as it has remained in the bottom 5 in the country over the past few weeks and it is something Jakus has mentioned specifically as something they will need to improve upon. That will especially be the case against Tulane, as they have shot 34% from beyond the Arc this season and will have multiple capable shooters that could hurt them if FAU’s defense is lackadaisical.
The Owls fight for a rebound against UAB last Sunday at Elanor Baldwin Arena. Photo Angelina Labelle.
Outside of the 3 point defense, a lot of statistics have been on the rise lately for the Owls including their Effective FG% and turnover % which are both top 100 in the nation on offense, while on defense their interior defense is 63rd in the nation as they hold teams to 47.3% from 2 and they force a turnover on 18.6% of possessions which is 111th in the nation. The Owls ability to defend the interior, while also forcing turnovers is critical in this matchup and if they can defend the perimeter they will be in a solid position defensively.
The biggest bright spot lately for FAU has been Tre Carroll as he scored 20 against UAB, marking his 7th time in 8 games scoring 15 or more and he is now the Owls leading scorer on the year, averaging 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Owls are at their best however when they are scoring from a variety of places and they still have 8 players averaging 7 or more points per game, the key now for FAU will be finding a way to get that scoring consistently throughout the game.
Offensively, the path to success for FAU in this one will be to continue spreading the ball around to find good looks both in the paint and beyond the arc, while limiting turnovers as much as possible, specifically in crunch time. Defensively, Tulane’s strength this season has been from beyond the arc and if the Owls can limit their opportunities, while frustrating their guards by forcing turnovers that will put them in a favorable position by limiting the Tulane offense.
Green Wave at a Glance
Offense – 76.0 PPG, 43.9% FG, 34.6% 3PT
Defense – 67.9 PPGA, 39.4% FGA, 30.4% 3PTA
Rebounding – 36.8 RPG Owls, 35.6 RPG Opponents
Tulane Notes
The Green Wave head into this matchup also at 9-8, having won their last matchup against USF and 4 of their last 5 overall. In similar fashion to UAB, Tulane has bounced back after some early season struggles which saw them drop 5 in a row and now look to have turned a corner heading into their matchup with FAU.
During their past 4 wins, Tulane has been able to get consistent scoring out of arguably their 2 best players in Rowan Brumbaugh and Kaleb Banks with each scoring in double figures in all of their past 5 games. The scoring has been there as of late for Tulane, but their defense has been there all season, only allowing 80 or more in 2 games this season and over their past 5 no team has been able to score more than 70.
Defense has been the strength this year for the Green Wave as outside of keeping teams under 80 points, they limit teams to a 47.9% EFG which is 70th in the nation, force a turnover on 18.9% of possessions which is 95th, hold teams to 47.5% from inside the perimeter which is 68th and also are top 100 in block and steal %. Statistically Tulane’s defense doesn’t have any glaring holes, however they do let teams get to the free throw line at a fairly high amount with a defensive FTA/FGA of 34.4 which is 214th in the country and teams have made them pay, allowing an opposing free throw percentage of 74.9% which is 316th.
Offensively, the Green Wave have been up and down on the year, with their strengths being a low turnover %, only 16.2% which is 90th in the country, good ball movement with an A/FGM of 60.3 which is 28th in the country and they have been fairly solid from 3, charting a 3 point percentage of 34.2% which is 129th in the country. The struggles this season have been in the paint, as they only grab an offensive rebound on 27.3% of possessions which is 260th and convert on 50.3% of 2’s which is 201st in the country.
Tulane has been a fairly top heavy team in terms of scoring this season as they are led by Kaleb Banks who is amidst a career year in his first year uptown after transferring from Indiana, averaging 18.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and Georgetown transfer Rowan Brumbaugh is the only other player averaging double figures, checking in with 13.9 points and 4.9 assists per game. The X-factors for this Tulane team are the guys who contribute outside of those 2, as Asher Woods, Gregg Glenn and Kam Williams are all averaging 9 or more per game and when 1 or more of those guys get hot is when this Tulane team is truly dangerous.
The path to success for Tulane in this one will start on the offensive side of things, as they will need to get both Brumbaugh and Banks going early and 1 of Glenn, Woods or Williams alongside them and if all 3 can contribute early in this game the Green Wave will be in a good position offensively. On the defensive side of things, Tulane will need to frustrate FAU and jump in the passing lanes, something they haven’t been great at this season, but if they can turn FAU’s guards over along with playing solid perimeter defense that will set them up well.