NCAA Tournament: How Florida Atlantic Owls got to the Sweet Sixteen

Florida Atlantic Basketball was not supposed to be in the Sweet Sixteen for this year’s NCAA Tournament but they found a way to be among the final 16 teams standing.

Before the season even began, the Owls were predicted to finish in 5th place according to the Conference USA preseason poll that was released in late October. However, Florida Atlantic Basketball entered the season optimistic as they returned 20-21 All-Conference USA honoree Alijah Martin and they also brought back Vladislav Goldin, Michael Forrest, Bryan Greenlee, Giancarlo Rosado, and Johnell Davis.

After a road loss to Ole Miss, the Owls got college basketball’s attention with an impressive road win over Florida which was the first time that they defeated the Gators as they were 0-3 against them all-time previous to this game. Florida Atlantic starting with that victory would go on to win an outstanding 20 straight games. The Owls were 21-1 before a road loss to UAB and after that loss to the Blazers, Florida Atlantic would only lose one more time to Middle Tennessee on the road by only four points. The Owls were in the Top 15 in the NET Rankings for most of the season since January.

One of the biggest reasons for the on-court success of the Owls has been the emergence of third-year guard Davis. He averaged under six points a game in his first two seasons with Florida Atlantic but this season he is the leading scorer for Dusty May’s team. The Owls head coach May is in his fifth season as the leader of the Florida Atlantic program and in his first four seasons at FAU, his team never won 20 or more games and did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament in any of those seasons. This season, May’s Owls won a record 33 games and this season is only the second time that FAU qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

Along with Martin and Davis, Florida Atlantic has been anchored defensively by Goldin. He leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots. Goldin also is the Owl’s third-leading scorer and at 7’1, he provides a strong post presence. FAU is deep having nine players on average, play 16 or more minutes a game, and that has helped them be consistent throughout the season.

You can make a strong argument that Florida Atlantic is the best mid-major team this season especially if you exclude Saint Mary’s from the WCC conference, as the Owls not only won the Conference USA regular season title but also captured the conference tournament as well. They have over 30 wins on the season, six wins against teams ranked in the top 65 of the NET Rankings, and 11 wins over teams ranked in the top 120 of the NET Rankings. By mid-January, the Owls were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in school history and in first place in Conference USA.

Fast forward to March, FAU started with two road wins and then went on to win three straight in the Conference USA tournament and earned the No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Owls appeared to have had a difficult draw facing a Memphis team that during the season defeated six power five conference teams in Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Stanford, Mississippi, Auburn, and Texas A & M as well as only losing on the road to Alabama by only three points. However, the Owls were ready for the challenge in the opening tournament game.

The game was back and forth early, with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half, FAU had an 18-11 lead. The Owls led most of the half and were up on the Tigers by a score of 27-15 with approximately eight minutes until the end of the half. However, Memphis got going offensively and stepped up defensively as well, and took a 35-31 lead heading into the second half.

It wasn’t until around the 15-minute mark, FAU tied the game at 43 points a piece. It mostly went back and forth the entire second half and the Owls took the lead with 2:26 remaining on a Rosado layup. Memphis responded and DeAndre Williams got a tip-in with only 34 seconds left and gave the Tigers a one-point lead. Then with only five seconds remaining in the game, FAU’s Brandon Weatherspoon got a steal, and after both teams took a time-out, Nicholas Boyd made a lay-up for the game-winner.

The Owls had balanced scoring with four players in double digits in scoring led by Rosado’s 15 on a perfect six-for-six shooting from the field. FAU besides winning also avoided No. 1 seed Purdue as Fairleigh Dickinson who didn’t even win their conference tournament and earned an NCAA Tournament bid due to a division one transition rule that prevented Merrimack from earning a bid, defeated the Boilermakers in arguably the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history.

Entering the game against their unlikely opponent the Knights, FAU entered the game as big favorites to win the game and to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history to play No. 4 seed Tennessee. FAU would not overlook Fairleigh Dickinson in their Round of 32 match-up.

In the first half, the Owls played solid defense against the Knights to take a 32-25 halftime lead. In the second half, Florida Atlantic’s offense got going with Davis leading the charge, however, so did FDU’s as well. With approximately 16 minutes remaining in the game, Fairleigh Dickinson took a 40-36 lead on a Demetre Roberts-made three. The Knights would have the lead until 13:18 remaining when FAU’s Martin made a three-pointer to tie the game at 44 points a piece. The game would go back and forth until the Owl’s Davis made a layup with just under nine minutes remaining and FAU never gave up the lead to win by a final score of 78-70 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Florida Atlantic has a tough task when they play Tennessee but the Owls proved they can beat teams from the SEC with their earlier win this season against Florida. The Vols will be a more difficult opponent than the Gators but FAU hopes to get the victory in New York City to advance to the Elite Eight.