What: FAU vs St. Leo – Exhibition
When: Saturday, October 26th, 2:00 PM
Where: The Burrow – Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena
Series: Owls lead 5-2. First contest in 22 years.
TV: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: Here
Line: FAU N/A
FAU at a Glance (2023-2024)
Offense – 83 PPG, 48% FG, 36% 3PT
Defense – 73 PPGA, 44% FGA, 32% 3PTA
Rebounding – 38 RPG Owls, 34 RPG Opponents
Owl Notables
FAU opens their preseason slate on Saturday with Division 2 Saint Leo and will look to put on a show for Owl nation. The Owls opened the John Jakus era with Paradise Madness a week ago which featured a 20 minute scrimmage where FAU fans were able to see the fast tempo and connectivity of the 2024-2025 Owls.
This matchup, along with Auburn will give the Owls opportunities to test multiple lineups, as well as just get a general feel what their majority new squad will be able to bring to the table in live action. There is a lot of potential scoring to go around for this team, as the Owls will look to run a high tempo offense and assist on a majority of their baskets, something we saw briefly during paradise madness.
Ken Evans Jr, KyKy Tandy, and Leland Walker have a chance to be serious contributors at the guard position, with all of them bringing double-figure scoring averages from their previous institutions. Saint Leo will give everybody a better idea whether those 3 are still scoring at a high rate, or if any take a step back into a facilitator role to help engineer this offense.
Although those 3 come in with the big scoring averages, the Owls have an abundance of guards who will potentially be able to play a role. Jakel Powell and Devin Vanterpool are 2 of 4 returners from the previous regime and both benefitted from a redshirt year and this scrimmage could be a first look at what both are able to do in game action. However, Powell will likely be sidelined for a whole while nursing a leg condition. Two other newcomers, Niccolo Moretti and Max Langenfeld may also contribute in the back court, with Moretti taking on more of a true PG role also with a solid 3 point shot, while Langenfeld will slide in as a 2, however he could also contribute at the wing.
The Owls having multiple wings with size is something they haven’t had in the past, however this year newcomers Langenfeld and Kaleb Glenn, alongside fan favorite Tre Carroll will all be able to slot in at forward and will give the Owls a level of versatility they haven’t had in recent years. This game will be an opportunity to see what Glenn and Langenfeld will be able to bring to the table, while seeing how Tre Carroll has developed his game and will slot into the new offense.
The revamped big men room will also be on full display as Baba Miller joins Lithuanian imports Matas Vokietaitis and Mantas Kocanas to create a new look front court which will provide a load of versatility for the Owls. Over the past 2 years, Vlad Goldin and Giancarlo Rosado excelled down low for FAU, however they mainly stayed near the paint. This new unit, especially Miller will be able to spread the floor and allow for the Owls to have a big man presence outside of the painted area. Against Saint Leo, we will get a better understanding of how potential rotations of these 3 may go and how they all fare in live action.
Overall, FAU plans to test a lot of potential lineups during these scrimmages, so as for potential rotations there may not be much to read into during the pre-season matchups. Something to keep an eye on is how this squad has gelled and how they execute team first basketball in their first live action together. With that in mind, it’s also to going to be a chance to see how everyone does individually and how the abundance of talent and inbound scoring are able to execute their personal games while still playing within the goals of the team.
Although there is a lot of new with this Owls squad, there is a lot of talent as well and although it is new to Boca Raton, talent is talent, and this game will be a first opportunity to put it on display in live action.
Saint Leo at a Glance
Offense – 79.5 PPG, 47.3% FG, 39.9% 3PT
Defense – 84.4 PPGA, 46.6% FGA, 36.8% 3PTA
Rebounding – 34.3 RPG, 37.1 RPG Opponents
Lions Notables
Saint Leo comes into this matchup in the midst of a preseason gauntlet, as they will battle with FAU on Saturday, having already matched up with FSU on Thursday and then they will take on Miami the following Wednesday. It is a great test for D2 Saint Leo who comes into this season off an 11-17 year where they went 6-14 in conference play, but with a start to the schedule like this it shows they have pushed last season aside and they are ready to compete.
The Lions come into this matchup under first year interim Head Coach Spencer Henke, who took over in May following the sudden departure of Lance Randall who had coached the team since 2019 and previously was the HC in 2011-2015. With Randall off to Wisconsin as an Assistant, Henke takes over after serving as an assistant on Randall’s staff since 2020. Henke was previously a student manager at Marquette from 2016-2020 under former coach Steve Wojciechowski.
Saint Leo had 5 players averaging double figures last season, however they were only able to return one of them in 2024-2025, junior G Logan Ryan who averaged 10.2 PPG and 2.6 rebounds, while shooting 44% from 3. A bit of talent was brought into replace the departed scorers, as 6’6 forward Shunta Wilson comes over from the University of Charleston (D2) where he averaged 10.1 PPG in his junior year, while Grad Student Eric Jones also a 6’6 forward transfers in from North Georgia where he put up 8.0 PPG on 32% shooting from 3 a year ago.
There is an abundance of change around this program, so it is unknown what is in store from the Lions, however with playing 3 D1 teams to open their pre-season there is a sense of confidence around this program which can be dangerous for any opponent. Expect Saint Leo to fight hard no matter what ends up happening score wise and hopefully be able to provide solid resistance in an early season tilt with FAU.