GAME NOTES: The Florida Atlantic Owls hope to end an eight-game losing streak on Saturday when they host the Rice Owls for a Conference USA matchup at FAU Gymnasium.

Coach Michael Curry's first season at the helm of FAU's program began with some promise, as the Owls ended their non-conference slate with a 7-4 record. However, FAU has lost all but one of its 13 games since entering the C-USA portion of its schedule, leaving it in dead last in the league race. The Owls began a two-game home stand on Thursday with a 79-72 loss to North Texas. FAU and the Mean Green traded the lead several times earlier in the first half and led 28-25 with less than six minutes to go, but North Texas ended the period on a 13-3 run and never looked back. FAU has been outscored by an average of 8.9 ppg in league play.

Rice is looking to rebound from the 60-56 setback it endured at FIU on Thursday. The loss ended coach Mike Rhoades' squad's three-game winning streak, which consisted of back-to-back double-overtime victories over Middle Tennessee (71-68) and UAB (82-73). Rice overcame a 10-point deficit late in the second stanza and took a four-point lead, but the Panthers drained a pair of back-breaking 3-pointers in the final two minutes to take back control. Rice enters Saturday's contest tied with FIU and North Texas for eighth place in the C-USA standings.

FAU won the first meeting in the all-time series between the two sets of Owls last season, 73-68.

Marquan Botley paced FAU in its last outing with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor, which he accompanied with eight assists. Justin Raffington and Jackson Trapp chipped in 10 points apiece to round out the double-digit scorers. Botley is pacing the Owls on the season with 13.7 ppg, but the sophomore guard has netted 18 ppg over his last four games and drained 11 shots from beyond the arc during that span. Trapp is contributing 11 ppg, while Raffington is posting 9.8 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. FAU is ranked second to last in the C-USA in assists (10.5 apg), rebounding margin (-3.8) and field goal percentage defense (.450).

Seth Gearhart registered his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds at FIU. The 11 boards matched a career-best for the senior swingman. Marcus Jackson scored 10 points in the first half, but was held scoreless after the break. The Owls sank nine 3-pointers on Thursday night, to increase their total to 222 treys on the season. Rice needs just 16 more 3-pointers to break the program record for a third straight season. Gearhart has been tremendous throughout his final campaign with Rice, posting 15.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Jackson is tallying 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and three assists per tilt. Max Guercy has also been a factor with nine points, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per tilt.

This is a winnable game for both sides. Rice is no longer the doormat it once was in the C-USA, but it has not yet established itself as a contender. FAU will undoubtedly give a huge effort to try to capture a long overdue decision.