The depleted Owls lineup lost to last year’s Sun Belt Conference champs and Sweet 16 competitor Western Kentucky (10-6, 4-1 Sun Belt) 78-57 in the Burrow.
FAU (4-13, 0-5 Sun Belt) extended its losing streak to eight games and remain the only winless team in the Sun Belt Conference.
They had the best start in their 15-year Division I history at 3-1, but since then injuries and off the court issues have caused the Owls to lose 12 of 13.
“I wish we had a full team. If we did, it would be quite different then it is,” head coach Mike Jarvis says. “There’s no body in this league that we couldn’t play with.”
WKU out rebounded FAU by 18 and won the points in the paint battle 42-16. The struggles down in the trenches have been a recurring theme this season as the Owls’ presence down low has diminished with the school’s all-time leading rebounder, Carlos Monroe, sitting out 11 of the 17 games played this year.
Monroe was out against the Hilltoppers, and will be out for at least three weeks.
“He’s got a foot problem that needs total rest. He’s basically been playing on one foot – he’s trying to fight through it,” Jarvis says.
The foot has been an ailment Monroe has played with throughout his collegiate career, but this was the first game missed for that reason this year. He missed the game against the Hurricanes because of a missed exam, and missed the first nine games of the year for “academic reasons.”
Another presence down low the Owls have been missing is forward Sammy Hernandez. He’s had a nagging groin injury that has caused him to play less minutes.
Then there’s redshirt sophomore guards Xavier Perkins and Sanchez Hughley. Perkins looked poised for a breakout year throughout the pre-season and the first few games of the regular season, but has since been on “extended workman’s comp,” as Jarvis calls it. Hughley has been out the entire season with a health issue.
FAU has a 13-man roster, one of those being the Mercer University transfer student, center Justin Davis, who has to sit out the season due to the NCAA transfer rules.
With five players of 13 missing significant time, Jarvis has dug deep into his bench to try to find a spark. Fifth year walk-on senior and FAU band member Chris Coleman got the first start of his career against WKU.
“We have a dart board we put up during these difficult times. You take your darts and just throw them and see what names hit the board and his name hit the board tonight. Who knows, I might start the next game if my name pops up on the board,” Jarvis says.
With the hopes of a winning season becoming dimmer with each passing game, Jarvis admits that this season isn’t all about the win-loss record.
“We’re not here for the season – we’re here for the reason and the reason is to build a strong program,” Jarvis says.
That’s not promising to the seniors who have been playing their tails off this season. Senior Paul Graham III is third in scoring in the Sun Belt. Senior Carderro Nwoji has scored over 20 points in two of his last three games.
“I just wanted to win,” Nwoji said after the WKU loss.
Wins are exactly what Jarvis was supposed to bring to this basketball program right away. He made an immediate impact at each of his previous coaching stops, including a 21-10 record in his first career collegiate coaching season with Boston University. He also helped improve George Washington University’s record to 19-12 in his first year with the team – just two years after the team suffered a 1-27 season – and took St. John’s to the elite eight in the NCAA Division I tournament in his first year with the team, after the team had only one winning season in the previous five years.
Although Jarvis says this season isn’t all about the win-loss record, his stare from the sidelines and tone of his voice he uses towards his players tell a different story with each passing mistake. Three more losses and this season will prove to be Jarvis’ worst season record-wise as a coach in his career.
