FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men’s basketball team has added another non-conference game to the schedule with the addition of a road trip to Loyola Chicago on Nov. 13 at Gentile Arena. The start time for the game will be announced at a future date.
“This game at Loyola will be a challenging test early in the year that we are excited about,” said head coach Michael Fly. “It will certainly be a gauge to where we are as they return four starters and several key players from last year’s NCAA team.”
Another update to the schedule is the movement of three ASUN games at the beginning of the conference slate. The North Florida game to open league play has been moved to Tuesday, Jan. 4 with tip still set for 7 PM. A pair of road games have also been moved with the contest at Kennesaw State now being played on Tuesday, Jan. 11 and the match-up at Stetson now set for Tuesday, Jan. 18.
This will be the first time the Eagles and Ramblers have met though both programs have history as NCAA Tournament Cinderellas. FGCU became the first-ever No. 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 during the historic 2012-13 season. Loyola reached the 2018 Final Four before falling to Michigan in the semifinals. The Ramblers (26-5) also reached the NCAA Tournament last year after winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament en route to making the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals before bowing out to Oregon State.
A pair of must-see games will open the home schedule. The highlight of arguably the Eagles best-ever home slate is a non-conference match on Tuesday, Nov. 16 for a Dunk City Reunion as Andy Enfield brings his reigning NCAA Elite Eight USC Trojans to Alico Arena in the first ever visit by a Pac-12 opponent. Unto itself, the USC tip would be a prominent piece of the schedule. However, this will be an extra-special event as the 2013 Dunk City Team will be the inaugural inductees into the FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame the night before and will be honored at halftime of the game.
For any FGCU enthusiast, or fan of college basketball in general, this will certainly be a Southwest Florida matchup to remember and is expected to be in high demand. Additionally, the first 3,000 fans through the door will get a special commemorative t-shirt celebrating the event.
Additionally, another marquee contest will be the twice previously postponed Rhode Island game return from the Eagles trip up to New England in 2017. The Rams are one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 and will be at Alico Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 23.
Several more games are slated to be announced in the near future as well as the full schedule for the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Invitational which will be held Nov. 26-28 in Alico Arena. Overall, a minimum of 16 regular-season home games are expected this season.
Ticket information is available by calling 866-FGCU-TIX, logging on to www.FGCUTickets.com, or stopping by the Alico Arena Box Office during business hours Monday through Friday. Season tickets are currently on sale following the summer renewal period. Mini-plan options and single-game tickets will be put on sale closer to the season. Additionally, group tickets are available for family outings, corporate events, or any other organization looking for a fun outing to attend.
The Eagles return a talented core group of upperclassmen entering the year while adding several experienced transfers who will be immediately eligible. Headlining the newcomers is 6-foot-11 center Kevin Samuel (Codrington Village, Barbuda/Redemption Christian (Texas)/TCU) who had 95 consecutive starts at TCU and is one of the premiere shot blockers in the country. Alongside starters and top returning scorers, Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) and Cyrus Largie (Miramar, Fla./Mater Lakes Academy), FGCU features game experience, depth, scoring and defense at each position.
For complete coverage of FGCU men’s basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men’s basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal – a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign – Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
COACH FLY
Michael Fly was introduced as the fourth FGCU men’s basketball head coach on April 5, 2018. He had spent the previous seven years as an assistant coach on the Eagles’ staff. In his time with the Eagles, he helped FGCU to a 189-134 record (.585 winning percentage), including six ASUN Tournament Final appearances, three NCAA Tournament victories, three ASUN Tournament titles and three ASUN Regular Season Championships, two berths in the NIT, a CIT appearance and a run to the Sweet 16. He has coached 13 all-conference selections while with the Green and Blue, including two ASUN Player of the Year honors in Sherwood Brown and Brandon Goodwin, two ASUN Defensive Player of the Year selections in Bernard Thompson and Demetris Morant and one ASUN Newcomer of the Year in Schadrac Casimir. Of the top-10 players in career points at FGCU, Fly has helped develop eight of them, including all-time leading scorer Thompson (1,835). Additionally, the Kentucky alumnus has coached both the ASUN all-time assists leader Brett Comer (845; 24th in NCAA history) and FGCU all-time leading rebounder Chase Fieler (714).
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (https://ift.tt/1E0CJiI), FGCU Athletics’ charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women’s basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors’ Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA’s Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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