From the start of the season, head coach Pat Chambers has said FGCU men's basketball was going to play a difficult nonconference schedule.
He purposefully put together a challenging slate to figure out what his team's weaknesses are and prepare them for ASUN play.
Now at the midway point of the season, the Eagles have felt just how hard the nonconference was.
“I’ll tell you what, the nonconference was a gauntlet," Chambers said. "It was brutal.”
FGCU finished the nonconference portion of its schedule at just 5-8. Some of those losses were to big-name programs like LSU, TCU and St. Bonaventure. However, the Eagles also rattled off some impressive wins over the likes of Florida International, Florida Atlantic and Richmond.
“I feel like we’ve grown a lot from the start of the season until now," FGCU center Keeshawn Kellman said. "We’re battle-tested. We’re able to go out there and compete against almost anybody.”
The numbers back up that confidence. Through its first 15 games, FGCU ranks top five in the Atlantic Sun in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and more.
“Every day, we come in here and get better," FGCU guard Zavian McLean said. "We’ve definitely made a lot of strides since the beginning of the season. So I think it’s only a matter of time before we really break through.”
The time to break through is right now. FGCU just started the ASUN slate with a win over West Georgia and a loss to Queens. Winning in conference play is paramount to making it to the NCAA Tournament. The Atlantic Sun is usually a one-bid conference. So, if the Eagles want to make it to the big dance, they will need to make it to the ASUN Tournament and then win the whole thing.
That is easier said than done, however. Conference play always brings out the best in every team.
“Everybody knows you in league play," Chambers said. "They know your defenses, they know your cuts, they know your special teams, they just know everything.”
That is why FGCU is practicing even harder right now in the hopes of making it to the ASUN Tournament and beyond.
“We’re going to be better than we were Year 1," Chambers said. "We’re going to better than we were Year 2.”
“We want to be the best team in the ASUN," McLean added. "We want to be the team that’s on Selection Sunday celebrating.”
FGCU hosts North Alabama in its ASUN home opener on Thursday at 7 p.m.