What: FAU vs Dayton (NIT)
When: Wednesday, March 19th, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eleanor R Baldwin Arena, Boca Raton, FL
Series: Dayton leads 1-0
TV: ESPN 2
Radio: Fox 640
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Line: Dayton -1
Ken Pom Prediction: Dayton 77 FAU 76
Owls at a Glance
Offense – 78.7 PPG, 46.2% FG, 35.1% 3PT
Defense – 75.2 PPGA, 43.0% FGA, 36.7% 3PTA
Rebounding – 37.1 RPG Owls, 36.1 RPG Opponents
FAU Notes
After FAU Men’s basketball thought their season was over following their loss in the quarterfinal round of the AAC tournament, they received a lifeline in the form of a bid to the NIT and will host Dayton on Wednesday night. This will mark the second NIT appearance all time for the Owls, last playing in 2011, where they lost in the first round to Miami and it is the 4th consecutive season where FAU will play postseason basketball, as they played in the CBI in 2022 before reaching the NCAA tournament the past 2 seasons.
FAU worked out a gritty win against Charlotte in round 2 of the AAC tournament and they were close to willing their way to another one against Tulane, briefly leading in the second half and getting a 21 point performance from their freshman of the year, Matas Vokietaitis, however he fouled out with 4 to go and FAU went on to only score 3 points over the final 4 minutes, ultimately losing to Tulane 83-76. A brightside of the NIT is the Owls get to build on the success their freshman had during the tournament, as Vokietaitis was a star down low in both games, while redshirt freshman Devin Vanterpool scored a season high 12 points, also defending the perimeter well and heading into the post-season tournament both will look to continue their strong play.
Overall on the year, the Owls were a top 100 team in their effective FG% which factors 3 pointers being worth more than 2’s, sitting at 34.9% which is 119th in the nation and although their 3-point percentage is outside the top 100, their 2-point percentage is 53.8% which is 81st and the offense is fueled by their high assist rate, having an A/FGM of 56.6% which is 70th. The 3-point percentage has fallen over the past 2 games for the Owls, as they have been under 30% in both games and it led to a battle with Charlotte and potentially cost them against Tulane and for this offense to perform at its highest level possible, they need to be at least 35% from beyond the arc.
Oh the defensive side of things, FAU’s biggest strength continues to be their interior defense as they allow teams to shoot only 46.6% from 2 which is 28th in the country and in the AAC tournament they held both Charlotte and Tulane to under 50% on 2’s. The Owls’s weakness defensively has been their 3 point defense currently allowing teams to shoot 36.8% which is 336th and in the AAC tournament, although they kept Charlotte to under 30% from 3, Tulane shot 46% and it allowed the Green Wave to keep up and ultimately out score the Owls.
Scoring wise, the Owls are led by Kaleb Glenn who’s averaging 12.5 PPG and 4.8 RPG and he is joined in double figures by Tre Carroll (12.1 PPG 5.3 RPG), Baba Miller (11.2 PPG, 7 RPG) and Matas Vokietaitis (10.1 PPG 5.5 RPG). With Vokietaitis’ recent scoring barrage he is up to a double figure average on the year and it will be something to watch how much the offense runs though him in this matchup.
This matchup is a tough one for FAU, as Dayton brings in length and solid guard play, as well as a team that is battle tested, so the Owls will need to bring their A-game to defeat the Flyers. FAU needs Vokietaitis to continue his strong play down low, however they also need to shoot at least 35% from 3 for the offense to truly flow, while on the defensive side of things, they need to limit Dayton’s guards from getting to the free throw line and if they can do all of those things, they will be in a good spot.
Quoteable:
John Jakus on the surprise of the NIT:
“We find out, just like everybody else, on Selection Sunday, you wonder what’s going to happen. I think the surprise is wrapped up. In fact, that it’s at our place. You know, that’s a little unconventional, but we had definitely applied, the athletic department filled that out. I signed a couple things, just in case and just in case happens. So we’re thrilled, but I don’t know that it’s so much of a surprise, in general we wanted to play in the postseason. I think surprise is that the game ended up at home,” Jakus said.
Kaleb Glenn on him & his teammates goals:
“I think we just are all in the same path to just go out there, try our hardest and get the win. We all want to hopefully get to Indianapolis and hopefully win it at all,” Glenn said.
Jakus on the matchup with Dayton:
“You know, Dayton is a great program, top 75 on Ken Pom, top 50 offense Coach Grant has done an unbelievable job over the years, and we know that it’s a high quality opponent. And so that challenge in itself is a special thing, but to have a program like them come to our place, and you know how hard, hard it is to get home and homes and different things like that, have to come to our arena. To have a program of their quality in our arena is a big deal. It’s something I hope will cause our place to sell out that there’ll be full support and normally hosting the NIT is really special,” Jakus said.
Jakus on scheming against Dayton:
“I think they dictate pace. So limiting how much they go up and down, is something they want to control. They’re slower in pace than we are, so we’re gonna have to try to counteract that. The second thing is, everybody has different styles of threes. I think they’ve got three guys on the roster shot over 140 threes at least this year, in Santos Cheeks and Bennett, to me, there are threes that come through assists, they’re a kickout team, I think their assist to turnover ratio would have been second in our league or top 50 in the country, and assist percentage. So we know that they drive to share, and so we’re gonna have to be on time in our closeouts to make sure that catch and shoot three is taken away. It’s not really a dribble breakdown. Three is more of a sharing three, and that’s credit Coach Grant and the system and the way it teaches the guys to pass,” Jakus said.
Jakus on KyKy Tandy’s availability:
“Yeah, that’s an ongoing thing with KyKy. For better or worse, he’s been dealing with that bravely, quietly, and I think we’re gonna keep dealing with it that way. Our trainer and doc will meet with him tonight, and then we’ll make decisions as we go,” Jakus said.
Flyers at a Glance
Offense – 75.2 PPG, 45.6% FG, 35.5 % 3PT
Defense – 70.1 PPGA, 43.2% FGA, 32.2% 3PTA
Rebounding – 34.4 RPG Owls, 33.0 RPG Opponents
Dayton Notes
Dayton heads into this matchup at 22-10 overall, however they lost to Saint Joseph’s in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament and with only one win over a tournament team (UConn) the Flyers find themselves on the outside of the NCAA tournament Bubble. Although Dayton flamed out of the A-10 tourney and they lack quality wins, the Flyers had a strong regular season, winning 12 conference games and they will look to finish strong in the NIT.
The Flyers offense went cold in the A-10 tournament, finishing under 40% from the field and under 35% from 3 and where Saint Joes hurt them is they held Dayton and their top 100 free throw Rate to only 11 free throw attempts, while the Hawks finished with 28. Dayton went into that matchup on a 4 game win streak, shooting better from the field in all of them, but with their NCAAT hopes on the line, they went cold in the clutch.
Offensively on the year, Dayton is top 100 in many areas including, effective FG percentage (52.6%, 93rd), turnover percentage (15.5%, 62nd), 3-point percentage (35.6%, 82nd), FT rate (37.9%, 46th), FT percentage (75.5%, 70th), and the offense moves well, with an assist rate of 59.4% which is 36th in the nation. The weak points offensively have been their offensive rebounding percentage (29.6%, 196th), and 2-point percentage (52.1%, 137th) and when they’re inconsistent in the paint, it leads to results like what they saw against Saint Joes.
On the defensive side of things, Dayton has been up and down, currently only top 100 in allowed 3-point percentage, allowing teams 32.3% from 3 which is 90th in the nation. The biggest struggle for the Flyers has been their interior defense, currently allowing 51.9% on 2’s which is 226th and with FAU having success lately down low, that could be a weak spot for Dayton.
Overall on the year, Dayton is led by 6’7 senior F Nate Santos, who averages 14.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG and he is joined in double figures by G Enoch Cheeks (13.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG), G Javon Bennett (10.9 PPG) and G Malachi Smith (10.5 PPG, 5.3 APG). When Dayton gets all 4 contributing their offense is tough to stop, however consistency was an issue for Dayton in their losses this season.
If Dayton is getting scoring from all 4 of their main contributors, they have the offense to not only keep up with what FAU scores, but outpace them if the Owls are off from 3. The key for Dayton in this one will be finding a way to get their offense rolling, while limiting FAU from 3 and if they can do both of those things, they will be in a good spot.