Following Florida Atlantic’s win over Indiana State in the first game a season ago, Devin Vanterpool had one message, “shoutout coach Jakus.” Nearly a year later it is now Jakus praising Vanterpool, as a 30 point performance led the Owls to a 92-63 win over Coastal Georgia on Monday night, moving the Owls to 3-1 on the season.
It was a much needed bounceback performance for FAU following their loss to Liberty last Sunday. The Owls looked to play with an edge, showcasing a physical effort which saw 3 different guards pull in multiple offensive rebounds, 46 points in the paint and a 19 rebound advantage on the glass.
While Vanterpool led the way, the Owls also got back to sharing the ball. FAU assisted on 40% of their made baskets and finished with 4 players in double figures overall, as Isaiah Elohim finished with 16, Xander Pintelon added 13, and Devin Williams chipped in 10, to go with Vanterpool’s 30.
You never want to overreact when facing a non D-1 opponent, but this was an important win for FAU as they were able to execute their adjustments following their first loss of the season and a week of rest.
The Owls were also able to go deep into their bench, playing 12 players for 8 minutes or longer and providing a valuable scouting period for the FAU coaching staff as they tweak the rotation throughout the non-conference slate.
Next up for FAU will be Pacific at home on Thursday, but before then let’s dive into three takeaways from the Owls win over Coastal Georgia on Monday night.
Devin Vanterpool shows he can takeover
Devin Vanterpool was looked at as a player who was going to take the next step to be a leader on this FAU team heading into this season. He has done that, and then some, through the first 4 games of the season.
Although Vanterpool didn’t score in double figures during FAU’s first two games of the season, he grabbed 14 rebounds and 3 steals in those games, finding a way to make an impact on the game in a different way.
Over the past two games, Vanterpool has taken over as a scorer, scoring 24 points on the road against Liberty and 30 points against Coastal Georgia. While he contributed heavily in the score column on Monday, he also stuffed the stat sheet as a whole, finishing with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Vanterpool also showed a trait of being able to take over games, as when things began to slow down late in the game, he was able to go and get the Owls multiple buckets.
With the Owls looking to put the game away, Vanterpool was able to come off the bench with 10:48 to play and do exactly that. Vanterpool scored 10 straight points for FAU from the 9:08 to 5:56 mark in the second half, using an aggressive style of play to get to the rim and put the game on ice.
With how much the FAU offense moves the ball when it is at its best, there is no way to predict if Vanterpool’s scoring output continues at the rate it’s on now. However, FAU Coach John Jakus believes Vanterpool showing he can score at a high volume not only at home, but also in a road environment, is an encouraging sign moving forward.
“There’s no way to predict the future… but Liberty to be fair is a tournament team and the pick to win their league… Dev had 24 there in front of a sold out crowd. So if there’s any proof that he can do it on the road against the tournament team, we’ve got one under our belt…He just needs to keep playing the right way,” Jakus said.
Owls show off their diverse set of bigs
The Owls had a glaring size advantage against NAIA Coastal Georgia, which probably made things a bit easier for the Owls bigs, but it also gave a glimpse on how FAU’s diverse front court could cause problems for smaller teams.
The Owls starting front court of Devin Williams and Xander Pintelon accounted for 23 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Off the bench, Vincent Neugebauer saw a season high 13 minutes of action, notching 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal.
Pintelon and Williams playing together helps the Owls space the court, as both have the ability to connect from beyond the arc, but also play physically down low. On Monday specifically, playing outside the paint drew Coastal Georgia’s limited size away from the basket and opened up the paint for Vanterpool, who consistently capitalized with aggressive takes to the rim.
At times on Monday, we also saw both Neugebauer and Pintelon on the court together, which is another duo that the Owls could use to cause problems for undersized teams.
While Pintelon and Williams can play inside and out, Neugebauer is a bit more limited in his overall game; however, his presence near the rim defensively is strong. If the Owls can figure out spacing that allows the offense to flow consistently with him on the court, he could make a big impact for FAU as the season goes on.
The early portion of the season has given Jakus and his staff a chance to see what the entire roster can do during an in-game scenario and as lineups begin to shrink down, he mentions it is possible we see Pintelon and Neugebauer on the court together more going forward.
“Yeah, I do (see Pintelon and Neugebauer playing together) We went deeper into our bench. We played four games in eight days. The oddest thing about our schedule, to me isn’t you know anything besides, we had to play two games in two days, and against Charleston, we tried to play all 13 to save our legs. And then now we’re playing four games in eight days, and we’re trying to go deep. There’s going to come a point where we can shrink this thing down and just play a game straight up. And you’ll see some of that line of combination with Xander and Vince,” Jakus said.
One Negative: 3 Point defense
While Monday night was mostly a positive night for FAU, the main area they struggled in was what has been their biggest defensive issue so far in this short season.
Coastal Georgia finished 47.8% from beyond the arc (11-23) and although the Owls were able to overcome that with a gaudy offensive output, it aligned with FAU’s overall struggles defensively against the 3.
On the season, FAU is currently allowing opponents to shoot 40.3% from beyond the arc which is 329th in the country and nearly 8% higher than the D1 average of 32.9% allowed, per Ken Pom.
The Owls next opponent, Pacific, is currently shooting 36.8% from three which is 90th in the nation. Three’s account for 32% of their total offense, which is only 154th in the nation; however, if the Owls can improve their perimeter defense and limit them, that could handicap their offense.
It is still early season, so it is more than likely the Owls are still adjusting defensively, but this is something the Owls will want to get ironed out sooner than later, as poor three point defense could hurt them come American conference play.
Cover Photo Via Marcus Tran