The Florida Atlantic basketball program has had an impressive start to the 2023-24 season. The Owls are 7-2 and hold the top spot in the American Athletic Conference standings. FAU received tough news on sophomore guard Nick Boyd ahead of the team's game against the FIU Panthers.

How will the undermanned Owls play against a hungry FIU basketball team?

Nick Boyd's injured leg remains in day-to-day status, but he is ruled out of Wednesday night's game against FIU, per Jon Rothstein. Boyd averages 10.7 points per game. Yet, the sophomore guard has not played since November 18th. Can the Owls pull out the win anyway?

The 2022-23 Florida Atlantic basketball team advanced to the March Madness Final Four game. The showing was a major highlight for the West Florida team. Since then, the Owls have had high expectations and are doing a solid job meeting them.

FAU only has one loss at home so far during the 23-24 season. The Owls lost a tough Top 25 matchup against the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 5th, their first ranked game of the season. Vladislav Goldin and Johnell Davis were the team's top scorers. They will look to continue their momentum against the Panthers.

FIU enters the matchup with a 3-7 record, but the Panthers pulled out a win against the Long Island University Sharks. The neighboring Florida team likely wants to spoil FAU's early-season success. Still, the Panthers will need more from the role players to get the upset.

Arturo Dean was FIU's leading scorer last game with 27 points. Nevertheless, the Owls hope not to be fazed by the opposing team's guard attack. Can FAU succeed despite being down a man?