Owls Set for Bonus Play vs FIU
The FAU Owls Men’s basketball team finished the regular season schedule at 16-11 and now face four fairly tough bonus games before the C-USA tournament.
It all came after defeating Rice last Saturday 60-41. FAU improved to 7-7 and clinched a tourney spot. They also got their bonus games, which are designed to pit the top teams in the C-USA against each other. Hence the Owls have match-ups that were very close in the regular season.
That starts with FIU, whom the Owls split the series with 1-1. The teams played each other back-to-back in January. Surprisingly, FIU stole the first one on the Owls home floor, where FAU has been pretty good up until then. A full recap of that game can be found below.
If a series split was the outcome, it wasn’t foreseen that it would be the road teams coming away victorious. However, at last FAU looked like a different team when they took the floor in Miami a few days later. They beat the Panthers on their home floor, returning the favor. Again, the recap of this game can be found below.
So at the 1-1 split, many were hoping that around time to decide bonus play, that these two teams would get a tiebreaker. And so they did. The FAU Owls and the FIU Golden Panthers will square off in Boca Raton, FL on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST. Besides bragging rights in this ever growing school rivalry, seeding for the C-USA tourney is on the line and these teams have the same record all-around.
Check out these highlights from our win over North Texas this weekend! #PawsUp? pic.twitter.com/0JZHAy6l6D
— FIU Men's Basketball (@FIUHoops) February 18, 2019
Who Wins, FAU or FIU?
It is difficult to say who has the upper-hand heading into the game. Both teams have beaten the same opponents lately and looked pretty darn similar in doing so. Factor in that home-court clearly does not hold much of an advantage to either team. Yet, these teams play very different. FAU is a low scoring, defensive minded team that beats you on energy and hard-work. On the other hand, FIU is a higher-scoring team that is not as good defensively, but can get turnovers to start fast-breaks.
Never forget.
SAT | 4:00PM#BEATFIU ❌ pic.twitter.com/Mjc4Dk6a0U
— FAU Men's Basketball (@FAU_Hoops) February 21, 2019
It is unfair for me to call a winner (as an FAU Alum), however, I do think the Owls have found a spark in their last few games. This could be another close game that will come down to who closes out better.
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