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Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Brett Royster prepares to board the bus that will take the Owls to the airport on Friday. (FAUOwlAccess.com photo)

High stakes in Hot Springs

An NCAA tournament berth is within reach for Florida Atlantic as the Owls head into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Hot Springs, Ark.

Originally published on 3/4/2011

by Marcus Nelson

BOCA RATON – After an impressive run through the Sun Belt Conference which began in December, Florida Atlantic’s most important games of the season will be in the next three days.

The Owls head to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Hot Springs Ark. knowing what’s at stake – an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

FAU, the winner of the Sun Belt’s Eastern Division, opens the tournament on Sunday against either North Texas or Troy in the quarterfinals.

The Owls think they have the kind of team that is built to win three games in three days and to cut down the nets on Tuesday.

“We’re ready for this and everything we’ve done this season is for this,” forward Brett Royster said. “We’re feeling very confident.”

Should FAU fall short of winning the tournament, the Owls are assured a bid to the NIT by virtue of winning the Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championship.

“You are playing for the NCAA Tournament and that always should be your goal,” FAU coach Mike Jarvis said. “I’d be shocked if anyone is thinking about the NIT. It sure is nice to have, but it’s not the big prize.”

But having a potential NIT bid does remove some of the pressure for the Owls,

“Knowing that we have a fallback takes the pressure off a little, but at the end of the day what we see is the NCAA Tournament,” Royster said. “We’ve said multiple times this season that anything less than a trip to the NCAA Tournament is not a successful year.”

What You Need to Know: Sun Belt Conference Tournament

When: Saturday-Tuesday
Where: Hot Springs, Ark.
TV: Championship on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Tuesday
Radio: All FAU games on ESPN 760
Streaming Video: Available at www.SunBeltSports.org
Streaming Audio: All FAU games on www.FAUSports.com and www.espn760.com
Tournament Schedule: Printable bracket
Official Site: Sun Belt Conference’s Tournament Central

Scouting reports

East Division

1. FAU

Record: 21-9, 13-3 Sun Belt
Vs. FAU: N/A
Top gun: Greg Gantt 14.0 ppg
Of note: FAU has never won a neutral site game in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

2. Middle Tennessee

Record: 15-15, 10-6
Vs. FAU: Lost 71-67 at MTSU on Jan. 13. Lost 62-51 at FAU on Jan. 27
Top gun: James Washington 13.9 ppg
Of note: Blue Raiders have lost three of their last four games, including a 70-68 loss last week to Houston Baptist, which had the worst RPI in the nation.

3. Western Kentucky

Record: 14-15, 8-8
Vs. FAU: Lost 78-73 at WKU on Jan. 15. Won 57-53 at FAU on Jan. 29.
Top gun: Sergio Kerusch 15.1 ppg
Of note: Lost two of last three, including an ugly 57-39 loss to MTSU in regular-season finale

4. South Alabama

Record: 12-15, 6-10
Vs. FAU: Lost 65-57 at FAU on Jan. 6. Lost 74-64 at USA on Feb. 27
Top gun: Martino Brock 15.2 ppg
Of note: Augustine Rubit was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year

5. Troy

Record: 8-20, 6-10
Vs. FAU: Lost 82-77 (OT) at Troy on Dec. 16. Lost 77-60 at FAU on Feb. 24.
Top gun: Vernon Taylor 15.6 ppg
Of note: The Trojans allowed a Sun Belt-high 77.1 ppg.

6. FIU

Record: 10-18, 5-11
Vs. FAU: Lost 73-72 at FAU on Feb. 2. Lost 80-78 (OT) at FIU on Feb. 19
Top gun: DeJuan Wright 15.0 ppg
Of note: Wright has a double-double in 10 consecutive games

West Division

1. Arkansas State

Record: 17-14, 11-5
Vs. FAU: Lost 61-57 at FAU on Jan. 8
Top gun: Martavius Adams 11.2 ppg
Of note: Red Wolves dealing with loss of guard Trey Finn who suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice this week.

2. Louisiana-Lafayette

Record: 14-14, 11-5
Vs. FAU: Won 72-64 at FAU on Feb. 12
Top gun: J.J. Thomas 11.7 ppg
Of note: The Ragin’ Cajuns are the hottest team in the Sun Belt and have won 11 consecutive games

3. Denver