Florida Atlantic Opens American Tournament Against Temple

Wednesday, March 11

Birmingham, Ala.

9 p.m. ET

Florida Atlantic

No. 10 Temple

Photo by: JC Ridley

3/10/2026 12:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Ben Paul

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Florida Atlantic's men's basketball team will enter the American Conference Championship tournament as the No. 7 seed, first facing No. 10 Temple on Wednesday, March 11. Tip-off at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The Owls of FAU (17-14, 9-9) will face the Owls of Temple (16-15, 8-10) for the third time this season. Florida Atlantic swept Temple in the regular season series.

LAST TIME OUT
FAU faced Wichita State to close the regular season on March 7. The Owls kept reaching against the No. 2-seeded Shockers (21-10, 13-5) with 10 lead changes between the two teams, but Wichita State pulled away at the end to secure an 88-70 win. Despite the loss, junior guard Kanaan Carlyle put forth a season-high 26 points, 20 of them coming in the first 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.
The Owls have recorded a winning campaign for the eighth straight season.
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.
Freshman guard Josiah Parker, the American Conference's Freshman of the Year, led the conference with seven weekly freshman honors, more than double the amount of any other freshman in the league, with four of them coming since the start of February. 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. His 25 points on Feb. 11 against Rice were the most by an FAU freshman since Michael Forrest in 2019. He leads all American Conference freshmen with six double-doubles.
Redshirt sophomore guard Devin Vanterpool has totaled two American Conference weekly honorable mentions on the way to winning the league's Most Improved Player of the Year and being named to the All-Conference third team. He leads FAU in points per game (15.8) and rebounds per game (6.2), as well as steals (37). 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.
Kanaan Carlyle was an American Player of the Week recipient and has made the honorable mention list twice. He 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 14.7 and has converted at least one three-pointer in 24 out of 26 games played.
As a team, the Owls are No. 10 in the nation in blocks per game (5.5). Redshirt sophomore forward Devin Williams is No. 2 nationwide at 2.7 per game and is third in program history with 82 total on the season. In two games this season, he recorded seven blocks, one shy of the single-game program record.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Elohim has scored in double figures for a team-high 21 times on the season.
Redshirt junior guard Niccolo Moretti reached 100+ assists for the second straight season. He is the first FAU player to do so in back-to-back campaigns since Nick Rutherford in 2015-16 and '16-17.

ABOUT THE TEMPLE OWLS

Head Coach Adam Fisher is in his third season with the program. In his first year, he guided the Temple Owls all the way to an American Conference Championship game appearance after entering the tournament as the No. 11 seed.
Senior guard Derrian Ford is fourth in the conference in scoring at 18.1 points per game.
Junior guard Gavin Griffiths trails only Williams in blocks per game in the American, averaging 2.0.
Temple is No. 5 nationally in limiting its turnovers, averaging just 9.0 per game.
Florida Atlantic staged a second-half comeback in both of the season's victories against Temple, winning 79-73 on Jan. 18 and 77-73 on Feb. 26.

UP NEXT
The winner of Florida Atlantic's opening-round game will face No. 6 North Texas on Thursday. Tip-off will be at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

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.