Florida Gulf Coast opens its 2026-27 season Tuesday at Indiana, with the Eagles and Jacksonville tied for the top spot in the ASUN preseason poll. FGCU returns much of its production and brings in preseason All-ASUN transfer Denika Lightbourne, while Sinai Douglas and Eve Alexander also earned preseason honors. Indiana finished 18-14 last season and returns three of its top four scorers.

By the Numbers
  • FGCU and Jacksonville are tied atop the ASUN preseason poll.
  • Three Eagles — Douglas, Alexander and Lightbourne — made the Preseason All-ASUN team.
  • Indiana went 18-14 in 2025-26.
  • The teams split their first two meetings; Indiana won 82-64 last season.
  • FGCU is 5-9 against Big Ten opponents and 25-40 against power-conference teams.
Yes, But

FGCU brings back a strong core, but it faces a challenging road opener against a Big Ten opponent. Indiana lost leading scorer Shay Ciezski, who averaged 22.8 points per game, but returns its next three leading scorers.

State of Play
  • Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
  • FGCU has not won a true regular-season road game against a Big Ten team.
  • The Eagles’ last road win over a power-conference opponent came at Kentucky in 2022.
What's Next

FGCU will travel to South Carolina two weeks after its game at Indiana, giving the Eagles multiple regular-season road games against power-conference opponents for just the third time in program history.

Bottom Line

The opener is an early test of FGCU’s preseason ambitions: a veteran core and promising newcomers will face a capable Indiana team on the road, where the Eagles have yet to earn a regular-season Big Ten win.