Representatives in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments meet Sunday when Towson hosts American University. 

The Eagles reached the 2018 Tournament out of the Patriot League, and nearly made it back-to-back trips a season ago. They went 16-2 in the conference, winning a share of the regular-season title, but dropped the Patriot League Championship Game to Bucknell. 

Who: American University (2-2) at Towson (1-3) 

Where: SECU Arena; Towson, Maryalnd

When: Sunday, Nov. 24, 2 p.m. ET

Watch: LIVE on FloHoops

American’s conference-tournament loss had it playing something of a role reversal with Towson, which played spoiler en route to the Colonial Athletic Association’s automatic bid in 2019. 

American At A Glance

Coach Megan Gebbia’s in her seventh season at American, and it’s been quite a tenure for the Towson alum already. The Eagles won at least 22 games in four of her first six seasons, including the last two, and made four postseason appearances.

Last year’s trip to the Women’s NIT marked the program’s second. American’s appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the conclusion of a record 26-win campaign was its second of Gebbia’s time at the helm.

Eagles On Offense

Cecily Carl capped an outstanding career in which she averaged double-figures in three different seasons, posting 15.8 points per game en route to Patriot League Player of the Year. Replacing her production on offense isn’t easy, but Jade Edwards has stepped up in a big way through American’s first four games.

Edwards among four Eagles scoring in double-figures, posting 19.8 points per game. Her six rebounds also lead American.

Kaitlyn Marenyi is averaging 11.3 points, Emily Fisher is putting up 10.8, and Maddie Doring scored 10 in her 2019-20 Thursday against George Mason.

Eagles On Defense

American flourished each of the past two seasons with stingy defense. Last year, the Eagles ranked 42^nd in the nation at 58.7 points allowed per game. In 2018-17, they held opponents to just 57.8 points per game behind a staggering 35.6 percent shooting allowed from the floor.

American’s tenacious, man-to-man defense focuses on forcing contested shots, but the Eagles will not hesitate to push the pace with turnovers. In 2018-18, they forced opponents into 16.2 turnovers per game, which became nearly 17 points on the other end.

Towson At A Glance

The 2019 CAA Tournament champions are looking to jump-start the 2019-20 campaign with a home date before heading off to the Puerto Rico Clasico.

The Tigers faced a tough three-game stand to open the season, losing a 73-67 heartbreaker against a strong Penn State bunch, then went 0-2 on a weekend road swing through San Diego against USD and San Diego State.

Back home for the first time in almost three weeks, the Tigers aim to bounce back ahead of a Thanksgiving Day showdown with reigning Big Ten Conference champion, Iowa.

Tigers On Offense

Two returners from last season’s Tournament squad earned preseason All-CAA recognition: Kionna Jeter and Nukiya Mayo. The duo provide plenty of offensive punch at 16.3 and 17.3 points per game through the Tigers’ first four.

Mayo has also been outstanding on the glass, averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. Seven of her 33 rebounds have come on the offensive end. Mayo will have more opportunities to wreak some havoc inside against a smaller American lineup.

Guard Q. Murray, who last season set a Towson record for assists, sets the table for a Tigers offense averaging just under 70 points per game.

Tigers On Defense

Towson gets up and down the floor under coach Diane Richardson, who came from West Virginia. Mike Carey’s teams in Morgantown plays at one of the faster paces in the nation, and the Tigers are not afraid to follow suit.

A byproduct of that is that Towson can give up points. The Tigers’ skid-snapping defeat of Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday marked the first time this season they held an opponent under 73 points.

Protecting possession on offense translates directly to improving Towson’s defense: The Tigers are giving up almost 20 points per game off of takeaways.