NCAA Basketball: Top 25 early winners from 2023 offseason moves
By Joey Loose
7. Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic was picked to finish fifth in the Conference USA last season. Instead, they were seconds away from the national championship game before San Diego State’s buzzer-beater ended a historic season in the Final Four. They earned a 9-seed after an impressive regular season and played even greater basketball in the Big Dance, with Dusty May’s fifth season as head coach becoming one for the ages.
What makes Florida Atlantic a certain winner is that his championship-level rotation remains intact. The only senior on last year’s team was Michael Forrest, who came off the bench to average 8 points a game. Star guards Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin were only sophomores last season, as was the case for 7’1 stud Vladislav Goldin. These three stars and the rest of that rotation will all return for another year under May and another chance at glory.
In this era of the Transfer Portal, it’s almost insane that everyone is returning, especially when NIL offers for some of those stars could’ve been enticing at other schools. The Owls do transition to the AAC for next season but will certainly be the favorites to win their new league. This isn’t just a reaction to a Final Four run, this was one of the best teams all season regardless of their schedule. Everyone’s coming back and there should be some insane levels of excitement in Boca Raton.