Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, January 27: Jacksonville at Florida Gulf Coast

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Jacksonville at Florida Gulf Coast, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

Heading into the season, and even during the months of November and December we were convinced that the Atlantic Sun would be a two team race between the North Florida Ospreys and the NJIT Highlanders.  North Florida has certainly lived up to expectations, off to a 6-0 start in conference play.  Last year’s “Team of the People” here at HoopsHD, however, has struggled early in their first season in the ASun, as NJIT currently sits tied for fourth place at 2-3.  Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day is the battle for second place in the conference standings as the FGCU Eagles will be hosting the Jacksonville Dolphins.

Florida Gulf Coast enters play tonight with a record of 13-8 overall and 4-1 in A-Sun play.  The Eagles had run off seven straight wins before falling for the first time in league play this weekend, 91-75 at Lipscomb.  Marc-Eddy Norelia has been their standout player so far this season.  Norelia has 7 double-doubles on the year.  Christian Terrell is a solid outside shooter and perhaps the team’s biggest threat from beyond the arc.  Zach Johnson and Julian DeBose are also solid players for this team, giving them enough depth to battle for second place, even if surpassing North Florida for the top of the league standings may be a stretch.

The Jacksonville Dolphins are 11-11 overall and 3-2 in conference play, meaning a win tonight would move them into a tie with Gulf Coast for second place.  Despite only winning four Division 1 games during the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Dolphins have won three of their last four including a 10 point road win this past weekend at South Carolina Upstate.  The Dolphins have a lot more long-range firepower than FGCU, with Marcel White being deadly from beyond the arc.  The Dolphins also had the nation’s top three-pointer scorer in Darius Dawkins, until he went out with an injury back on January 14.  He has not played since then.  Senior Kori Babineaux is not a three-point shooter, but has scored in double figures all but twice so far this season.  The Dolphins will certainly score points — but whether they can outscore FGCU on the road tonight or not is another question entirely.