Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball
| Florida Gulf Coast Eagles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| University | Florida Gulf Coast University | ||
| First season | 2002–03 | ||
| Conference | Atlantic Sun | ||
| Location | Fort Myers, FL | ||
| Head coach | Joe Dooley (4th year) | ||
| Arena |
Alico Arena (Capacity: 4,633) |
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| Nickname | Eagles | ||
| Colors | Cobalt Blue and Emerald Green |
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| Uniforms | |||
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| NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 2013 | |||
| NCAA Tournament Round of 32 | |||
| 2013 | |||
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |||
| 2013, 2016, 2017 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 2013, 2016, 2017 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| 2014, 2017 | |||
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
In 2002, Florida Gulf Coast became an independent member of NCAA Division II. Florida Gulf Coast also started its men's basketball team, with Dave Balza as head coach from the inaugural 2002–03 to the 2010–11 season. In 2006, Florida Gulf Coast applied for NCAA Division I status and became a transitory Division I effective in the 2007–08 season. Florida Gulf Coast became a full Division I member on August 11, 2011.
The Eagles men's basketball team is best known for their run in the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, their first since moving up to Division I. In the Round of 64, the Eagles defeated the #2 seed Georgetown 78–68. It was only the seventh time that a 15th seed has defeated a 2nd seed, and the second-highest margin of victory for one. Two days later in the Round of 32, the Eagles defeated the #7 seed San Diego State 81–71, becoming the first time a 15th seed has ever advanced to the Sweet 16. The school was referred to as "Dunk City" or "Florida Dunk Coast" on many media outlets such as ESPN and CBS due to their high-flying athletic finishing style.
The Eagles participated in their first Division I postseason tournament in 2013, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, beating top-seeded Mercer in the conference tournament final. On March 22, 2013; the Eagles, the 15th seed in the South Region, scored one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, defeating second-seeded Georgetown 78–68. They were only the seventh #15 seed to defeat a #2 seed, the first being Richmond's 1991 victory over Syracuse. Two days later, they defeated seventh seeded San Diego State to become the first #15 seed ever to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Their run ended there in a 62–50 loss to third seeded Florida. This is "officially" the third-deepest run by a first-time tournament participant in NCAA history, behind only Indiana State advancing all the way to the national championship game in 1979 and Charlotte and Georgia reaching the Final Four in 1977 and 1983, respectively. Southwestern Louisiana, now known as Louisiana–Lafayette, advanced to the Sweet 16 in its first appearance as well, in 1972, but that appearance was vacated due to NCAA sanctions. Coach Andy Enfield was hired by USC on April 1. To replace him, the Eagles hired Joe Dooley, an assistant from Kansas.
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