MIAMI – Florida Atlantic is just not hunting for a slipper to dress in at the Sweet 16 dance in the East Region.
Mentor Dusty Might and his ninth-seeded Owls will not take into consideration themselves a Cinderella crew. FAU is 33-3 – a earn overall matched only by No. 1 seed Houston amid the 16 groups still combating for the countrywide title.
Overlook that this Convention United states member is positioned amongst the trendy, white-sanded beaches of Boca Raton and that the crew performs what opponents think about a large school fitness center (it seats around 2,900). This is a good basketball team that will be taking on fourth-seeded Tennessee of the Southeastern Meeting on Thursday night at Madison Sq. Back garden.
May well claimed persons can say just about anything they want about Florida Atlantic.
“We are really, really confident in our capabilities and those fellas in the locker home,” he stated Wednesday. “We’ve under no circumstances assumed of ourselves in that regard (Cinderella) just because of the good results of our league and our guys remaining able to do what they did around a 20-activity schedule. But we will acquire it.
“What ever receives the persons cheering for us, we’re open up.”
The Owls are proficient, incredibly centered, and basketball junkies. Extra often than not, Might has to kick his gamers out of the health club at night.
Right after knocking off Western Kentucky in the opening-spherical sport of the Convention Usa Tournament, the crew was supposed to return to their resort and take in meal. They begun viewing movie of their subsequent opponent, Middle Tennessee, rather. Then they defeat Center Tennessee, followed by Alabama-Birmingham for the league title and the automatic NCAA bid, their next all round.
It was no fluke. The Owls hold a school-file 20-video game winning streak and ended up rated this season for the initial time in college record. Their wins more than Memphis and Fairleigh Dickinson in the to start with two rounds of the event ended up their 1st in any postseason event – ever.
Now arrives Tennessee (25-10), an SEC powerhouse participating in in its fourth straight NCAA Event less than mentor Rick Barnes.
“We truly feel like it is the year of the underdog,” FAU guard Alijah Martin reported. “You know, we are the underdogs, remaining a mid-major form actively playing a lot of substantial majors and things like that. We’re just attempting to continue to be levelheaded and keep locked in and consider to get the position completed.”
Florida Atlantic has occur a prolonged way below May well, a former College of Florida assistant. He took above a software that experienced 7 straight losing seasons and he has posted five straight winning ones, highlighted by this time.
Following losing a lot of close online games previous season, guard Brandon Weatherspoon claimed the Owls attacked this period frame by frame and tightened ranks.
“We’ve sort of found this coming,” he claimed. “I don’t want to say Cinderella because we went on a 20-video game streak. We failed to have the media awareness, which we you should not treatment about. We just like to enjoy basketball.”
If something has gone wrong, it was the conclude of Sunday’s 2nd-round match against FDU. With the closing seconds winding down and the Knights fundamentally conceding, Martin showboated on a dunk.
“It was not essential, we had won the recreation, no position rubbing it their experience. I consider whole accountability for that,” Martin explained. “They have a nice staff in excess of there and they worked hard to get in this article as nicely.”
Guard Nick Boyd hopes that won’t current the Owls in the completely wrong light-weight moving ahead.
“We are all very good men. We’re not villains,” Boyd stated. “What happened, that was thoroughly out of emotion. It was not intended to be own or disrespectful to anyone. We want to be fantastic men out in this article. We’re not villains. We’re just obtaining fun.”
Barnes mentioned he expects FAU to be a hard out. The Owls defeat Florida. Tennessee did not.
“You search at their team, they’re intelligent,” Barnes explained, “they know each individual other effectively, terrific principles on the offensive conclusion, very seem defensively, and they should really be a really very self-assured workforce because you gain 33 video games, it speaks volumes.”
