FLORIDA ATLANTIC -2 (2 UNITS) - I have seen this FAU team in person twice the last two years and am very high on them this year and thinK they are the top team in the Sunbelt. They are off to a 1-3 start and were caught in a tough spot Wednesday night at American, having played their 4th game in night 5 nights and worse yet having traveled almost 3000 miles from Seattle to Washington DC after having played three games in 3 nights. Meanwhile, George Mason is not the same team we remember in recent years and Paul Hewitt is a huge drop down in coaching ability from Jim Larranaga. First off and simply put, the Patriots just lost to FIU as a double digit favorite at a neutral site close to their home in Blacksburgh and FIU is picked 5th out of 6 teams in the East Division of the Sunbelt. In that game, Mason shot well at 48.1% but played a sloppy game with 21 turnovers. Mercurial PG, Andre Cornelius is suspended for the team's first ten games. In addition, Sherrod Wright, who is averaging 14 ppg on 64% shooting the first three games is doubtful today with a wrist injury. The Patriots are now thin in both the backcourt and frontcourt.
FAU is led by a three headed monster in the backcourt of Greg Gantt, Raymond Taylor and Alex Tucker. Taylor and Tucker combined for almost a 2:1 assist to TO ratio last season and Gantt was their leading scorer last season at 14 ppg. This is an experienced 21 win team from last season and they will have a tremendous advantage in the backcourt today. Their weakness would be against a team with a strong frontline, which Mason doesn't possess. FAU is way better than their 1-3 record. The trip to Seattle for the World Vision Classic proved tough with a last second loss to a Portland and a hard fought 6 point loss to Washington, both local teams. They bounced back in the 3rd game with a win over Georgia State out of the Colonial and that had a horrific scheduling matchup at American. This is a good basketball team that needs to make a statement against a team in a bit of disarray and transition.
I will be adding a writeup on Long Beach State in a bit.