FORT MYERS, Fla. –The FSW men's basketball team will open its 2016-17 regular season on Wednesday (Nov. 2) evening with a neutral site contest against ASA College (Miami) at Broward College. Tipoff in Davie, Fla. is slated for 8:00 p.m.

The Matchup: FSW (0-0) vs. ASA College (Miami) (1-0)
When: Wednesday, Nov. 2  |  8 p.m.
Where: Broward College | Davie, Fla.
Hashtags: #FSWMBB | #Team1
Series History: First Meeting
Live Stats

WHO IS ASA COLLEGE
Hillsborough finished the 2015-16 season with a 3-27 overall record. The Silver Storm averaged 68.9 points and shot 38.3 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from behind the arc.

ASA returns just one of their top three scorers from last season (Dextor Forster, 10.1 ppg).

ASA is 1-0 on the season after defeating The Game Changers Academy 76-53 on Nov. 1. Raven Owen Jr. led the team with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
FSW men's basketball has been selected ninth in the 2016-17 Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) NJCAA Region 8 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll as released by the association on Tuesday. The poll was voted on by Region 8 men's basketball coaches, the Region 8 Men's Basketball Chair and the FCSAA Scoreboard Coordinator.

FCSAA regular season games begin Tuesday, November 1 and the first regular season coaches' poll will be released Tuesday, November 8.

Northwest Florida State, the defending FCSAA State Champion, took the top spot in the poll. Eastern Florida State is ranked No. 2 followed by Daytona State, Tallahassee CC, Chipola, Central Florida, Palm Beach State and defending Suncoast Conference Champs No. 8 St. Petersburg College.

Gulf Coast State follows FSW at No. 10.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Bucs will play 15 home games this season, but the Purple and Aqua will open their first season under Richter with seven straight road contests, including two games at the Daytona State Classic and two games at the Miami Dade Classic.

MEET THE STAFF
FSW will be led by Marty Richter, the former men's associate head basketball coach for FGCU. Richter brings a history of success on a national level to FSW. While at Chipola College, he compiled a 69-4 record and a number one ranking, and played a big role in the success of FGCU's NCAA tournament run to the Sweet 16 with all the fanfare of "Dunk City". He has also worked as a basketball analyst for ESPN and as a top notch scout for ESPN's Recruiting Nation.

Richter announced the hiring of Eric Murphy as assistant coach on September 9, 2016. Murphy comes to Florida SouthWestern after spending the last three seasons as a member of the Northern Colorado men's basketball staff. He served as the director of operations for one season (2013-14), before spending two seasons as an assistant coach (2014-16).

Prior to his stint at Northern Colorado, Murphy spent two seasons as the assistant and interim head coach at Wabash Valley College. He was the interim head coach at Wabash Valley for 11 games between Dec. 2012 and Jan. 2013. He spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Slippery Rock from 2007-09 and coached the following two years at Vincennes University as an assistant coach before moving to Wabash Valley.

Murphy played collegiately at Pennsylvania State-Beaver, Mercyhurst College and Waynesburg before beginning his coaching career. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Waynesburg in 2002 and completed his master's degree in physical education from Slippery Rock in 2010.

SEASON TICKETS
The FSW Athletic Department is still taking reservations for 2016-17 season tickets (men's and women's combo) and fans have several options to select from. Season ticket prices range from $75 to $300 and fans can go to FSWBucs.com/Tickets to fill out the online form and reserve their seat(s). FSW students will be admitted FREE with a valid BUC Card.

WATCH THE BUCS ONLINE
All 15 of FSW's home games will be available online through FSW Livestream (FSW.edu/livestream), and can be viewed on smartphones, tablets and laptop or desktop computers.

SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION ARENA
The Buccaneers will compete in the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena. When complete, Suncoast Credit Union Arena will be approximately 75,000 square feet and will host the Buccaneers' basketball and volleyball teams, and a student athletic center. The arena will seat approximately 3,300 fans and include six skyboxes, a hospitality event center, competition courts that convert into recreational courts, athletic office space, student, faculty and staff wellness, and an athletic center with a fitness pavilion, men's and women's locker rooms and a weight training area. The arena will have two Daktronics displays, on the north and south walls, which will each measure 10 feet high by 20 feet wide. Both displays incorporate variable content zoning to each show one large image or they can be divided into multiple windows to show any variety of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages. One-hundred feet of ribbon displays will be installed on the east and west walls of the arena. The ribbons provide the opportunity to supplement the content on the main displays as well as highlight sponsors throughout events.

FOLLOW THE BUCS
For the latest news on FSW Athletics, log on to FSWBucs.com or stay connected to the Bucs on social media. Follow the Buccaneers on Twitter @FSWBucs, on Instagram @FSWBucs, on Facebook at Facebook.com/FSWBucs and on Snapchat at BucsSnaps.

FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Athletic Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently supports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball), with Volleyball coming in the fall of 2017.

Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers will be the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (set to be completed by fall 2016), where FSW's men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams will compete.

THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America's two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.

In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA's rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.

On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.

The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.

For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org. 

THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.

Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.

For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.  

NJCAA REGION 8, THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE & THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college. 

The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors. 

FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.

The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.

The women's basketball program is Southern Conference with Broward College, Eastern Florida State College, Indian River State College, Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College.

For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.