FAU Basketball: 3 keys to beat Kansas State to make Final Four appearance

Before this season, FAU Basketball had never won a game in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they’re just 40 minutes away from the Final Four.

Dusty May’s Owls went 31-3 and won the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles but still had plenty who doubted, as is usually the case with dominant teams from mid-major leagues.

Those doubters have now been put to rest.

FAU took down 9-seed Memphis in the first round – an impressive win considering Memphis had just beaten No. 1 Houston to win the AAC Tournament.

In the round of 32, the Owls got a bit of a lucky draw with 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson. Sure, FDU was coming off arguably the biggest upset in the history of the sport, but it was still a favorable matchup for FAU, which rolled on to the Sweet 16.

On Thursday night, FAU showed the nation what they’re capable of. After trailing for most of the game, the Owls held Tennessee to just two points over a nearly seven-minute-long stretch in the second half. They won by seven points despite shooting under 30% from 3-point range.

Tennessee was coming off a dominant win over a red-hot Duke team and was arguably the most physical team in college basketball this season. FAU was up for the challenge.

FAU will get 3-seed Kansas State in the Elite Eight. Markquis Nowell is from New York City and set an NCAA Tournament record with 19 assists in K-State’s Sweet 16 win over Michigan State. Tennessee was the more intimidating team physically, but Jerome Tang’s Wildcats are on a mission. The fun part is that the same can be said about Dusty May’s Owls.

Here are three keys for FAU to beat Kansas State and book a ticket to Houston for the Final Four.