FGCU, North Alabama meet in Atlantic Sun semis

Published Mar. 5, 2021 6:45 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Florida Gulf Coast (10-7, 5-5) vs. North Alabama (12-10, 8-8)

Atlantic Sun Conference Tourney Semifinals, UNF Arena, Jacksonville, Florida; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Florida Gulf Coast is ready to face North Alabama with a spot in the Atlantic Sun championship game up for grabs. In the regular season, Florida Gulf Coast won both of the head-to-head matchups. The teams last faced each other on Feb. 6, when North Alabama made just eight foul shots on 11 attempts while the Eagles hit 19 of 23 en route to a 69-60 victory.

SAVVY VETERANS: Senior leadership could play a big role in the outcome of this game. Mervin James, Payton Youngblood and C.J. Brim have collectively scored 38 percent of North Alabama's points this season and 41 percent of the team's points over its last five games. For Florida Gulf Coast, Cyrus Largie, Jalen Warren and Eli Abaev have combined to score 44 percent of the team's points this season, including 54 percent of all Eagles points over their last five.LIKEABLE LARGIE: Largie has connected on 38.1 percent of the 42 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 2 of 9 over his last five games. He's also converted 70.2 percent of his free throws this season.

WINLESS WHEN: The Eagles are 0-5 when they score 63 points or fewer and 10-2 when they exceed 63 points. The Lions are 0-8 when they fail to score more than 64 points and 12-2 on the season, otherwise.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Eagles have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Lions. North Alabama has an assist on 28 of 73 field goals (38.4 percent) across its previous three games while Florida Gulf Coast has assists on 38 of 75 field goals (50.7 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Both Florida Gulf Coast and North Alabama are ranked atop the Atlantic Sun in terms of offensive rebounding. The Eagles are ranked first among conference teams with an offensive rebounding percentage of 30.8, while the Lions are ranked second with an offensive rebound percentage of 30.5.

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