Florida Atlantic Heads to Rice Before Hosting South Florida

HOUSTON – After a week off from game action, the Florida Atlantic men's basketball team will head to Houston on Wednesday, Feb. 11 for a meeting against Rice before returning to Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena to host South Florida on Sunday, Feb. 15.

The Owls of FAU (14-10, 6-5) will take on the Owls of Rice (10-14, 4-7) for the first time this season, with Wednesday's tip-off set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The rematch against the Bulls (16-8, 8-3) on Sunday will be a 'Red Out' presented by Baptist Health, airing on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
FAU hosted first-place Tulsa on Feb. 4 in a game that went down to the wire, falling short by a score of 78-76. The Owls were led by redshirt junior guard Niccolo Moretti, who played all 40 minutes and put forth a career game with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting, 20 of them coming in the second half.

ABOUT THE FLORIDA ATLANTIC OWLS

Head Coach John Jakus is in his second season at the helm of the program. In his debut campaign in 2024-25, he was a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, given to the nation's top first-year head coach. Under Jakus' watch, the Owls participated in their fourth straight year of postseason play, selected to the 2025 National Invitational Tournament.
FAU boasts eight international players. In total, the Owls are represented by seven different countries: the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Senegal, and France.
Redshirt sophomore guard Devin Vanterpool has totaled two American Conference weekly honorable mentions in the midst of his career-best season. He leads FAU in points per game (15.5) and rebounds per game (6.4), as well as steals (35) and three-pointers (48). His rebounds per game are No. 8 nationally among guards 6'4 and shorter. Against Coastal Georgia, he scored 30 points, the first Owl to reach that mark since Johnell Davis in January of 2024. He has recorded two double-doubles, most recently on Jan. 11 against Memphis with a career-high 11 boards.
Junior guard Kanaan Carlyle reached 500 collegiate career points on Dec. 13 against UAlbany, leading all active Owls. He is second on the team in points per game at 13.9 and has converted at least one three-pointer in 18 out of 20 games played. He also leads the team in assists at 3.1 per game.
Guard Josiah Parker, the American Conference's Preseason Freshman of the Year, leads the conference with four weekly freshman honors and has recorded a double-double in two of the last three games. Against Memphis on Jan. 29, he scored 21 points and collected 14 rebounds, most by an Owl since Vlad Goldin in March of 2023 and by a freshman since 2018.
As a team, the Owls are No. 6 in the nation in total blocks (137). Redshirt sophomore forward Devin Williams is No. 4 nationwide with 64 total. On Jan. 11 against Memphis, he totaled seven blocks, one shy of the single-game program record.
When playing at the Elly in the 2025-26 season, FAU is 9-3 and is averaging 93.0 points per game in the victories, winning by an average of 23.8 points.

ABOUT THE RICE OWLS

Rice is led by Head Coach Rob Lanier in his second season.
Leading in scoring, rebounding, and assists is graduate guard Trae Broadnax at 15.6 points per game, 5.5 boards per game, and 3.2 assists per game. He has earned four American Conference honorable mentions on the season.
Senior guard Nick Anderson is averaging 14.9 points per game and has received a weekly honorable mention from the conference.
Rice is aggressive on the glass, hauling in 14.3 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks No. 9 nationwide.
FAU and Rice have met 12 previous times, with the Owls of Florida Atlantic holding an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series.

ABOUT THE BULLS

Bryan Hodgson is in his first season with the program and has led the team to the top of the conference standings, tied for first at 8-3.
The Bulls are ninth nationally and top in the conference in scoring with 90.3 points per game.
Senior forward Izaiyah Nelson has the second most double-doubles in Division I with 16 on the season. He leads the American with 9.8 rebounds per game.
Junior guard Wes Enis is No. 4 in the nation at 3.59 three-pointers per game.
As a team, South Florida leads the nation with 21.1 made free throws per game.
The Bulls lead the all-time series over the Owls with a 16-4 record, including their most recent meeting on Jan. 25 by a score of 89-75.

UP NEXT
The Owls will return to Texas, this time for a two-game trip. They will face UTSA on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and North Texas on Sunday, Feb. 22.

SCHEDULE
Click here for the 2025-26 schedule.

ROSTER
Click here for the full 2025-26 men's basketball roster.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
To stay up to date on all things FAU men's basketball, follow the Owls on social media @FAUMBB.

Florida Atlantic's 2025-26 season is sponsored by Phil Smith Kia/Phil Smith Acura.

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Players Mentioned

Kanaan Carlyle

Niccolo Moretti

Josiah Parker

Devin Vanterpool

Devin Williams

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Rice on February 11, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus South Florida on February 15, 2026 at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at UTSA on February 18, 2026 at 8 p.m. ET

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at North Texas on February 22, 2026 at 4 p.m. ET

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Temple on February 26, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Charlotte on March 1, 2026 at 2 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University Athletics