NEW YORK — A decidedly powerful NCAA tournament storyline continued into the weekend Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
The cheers came loud and not just from the people wearing navy blue and red. Kansas State and Michigan State fans, who had stayed deep into the second half of the nightcap, joined. How could they not? These games often give way to outsiders from small schools who find the support of otherwise neutral observers.
Another contagious March Madness run from an unusual tournament entrant kept almost everyone in the stands at MSG wearing orange at their throats.
FAU! FAU! FAU! Chants bounced off the walls and ceiling of MSG.
At that moment, ninth-seeded Owls No. 4 Tennessee overcame after stalling an 18-2 run down the back stretch of the second half. The cheers rained. And so it happened, another spoiled away win, FAU’s 34th of 37 games this season. It ended 62-55 to advance to the Elite Eight. Tennessee would prove to be another disgruntled opponent.
FAU is in the first regional final in the history of the programme. The school is the seventh No. 9 to form an Elite Eight and only the fifth program in the past four decades to go this deep into the tournament, having won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in the same tournament.
When the last buzzer sounded, the owls hopped onto the press tables, pointed to the stands and raised their arms in jubilation. Family and friends were overjoyed. These happy scenes never get old. FAU is a freshman — 2023 was only the second time the Owls qualified for the NCAA tournament — but it plays like a program that comes here annually.
Among the most composed against Tennessee, it was a freshman. Nick Boyd, who scored 12 vital points, strutted out of the dressing room shouting “This is my town!” moments after FAU had won the excitement. Boyd, who grew up in nearby Garnerville, New York, insisted afterwards: FAU cannot be scored. This is not an underdog story. That was what would always happen.
“I don’t feel like Cinderella. We proved that tonight,” said Boyd. “Look at me, I’m not the strongest. Go down to Mike (Forrest) he’s not the greatest but we play hard and we play with heart.”
Usually these things work out so that teams that win NCAA tournament games have their moments of joy in their locker rooms before those locker rooms are opened to the media. No one shared the minutes with FAU. The innocence and naivety of it all in the midst of such bliss. You see, the players fled back to the stands to celebrate with family and friends, confusing NCAA officials who were trying to get them to the press conference and back to the dressing room.
let them have fun At some point we’ll get the offers.
“We’re where we should be,” Boyd said. “We are here to stay and we will keep fighting no matter who we face, whoever we play.”
Once again, it was sophomore Johnell Davis who helped turn a loss into a win. He had 13 of his 15 points in the second half. In the last three tournament games he has scored 56 points, 46 of them after halftime. He’s a clutch player and the team thrives on his toughness and penchant for knowing how to pierce other teams’ minds.
“We will do this run every time,” said Alijah Martin.
Every. Time. And this team shows up to everyone. Game. They proved that all season. Now there’s no denying it: The Owls are legitimate Final Four contenders. 34-3 is not achieved by accident. Dusty May has a powerhouse set in the cozy surroundings of Boca Raton, Fla., and this juxtaposition is so sweet it could only happen in a sport and tournament like this.
“They just stay the course and over the course of 40 minutes, 60, 70 possessions typically – 50 possessions in today’s game – trust that we’re going to find out,” said May, only sixth C-USA coach making the Elite Eight, said.
The Owls aren’t paper tigers or middle-class wannabes with a banging record. This team has been in the top 20-25 teams in the sport in terms of prediction metrics for months. After Tennessee’s dismissal Thursday night, they jumped to 17th place on KenPom.com — four spots ahead of their closest opponent, third-placed Kansas.
“So, so much respect for them,” May said. “We know how tough it’s going to be, but our boys aren’t going to back down. If we lose on Saturday, it’s because Kansas State beat us.”
We’ll see if Kansas State can do that, as only three other teams have proven capable in nearly five months.
New York City witnessed an incredible doubleheader on Thursday night. Markquis Nowell put on a performance that will be talked about in the Big and Little Apple for decades to come. Then FAU came in and penned another beautiful chapter in the history of the NCAA small school tournament that takes this program to the brink of the unthinkable.
Either Kansas State reaches its first Final Four in six decades, or the school, which didn’t have basketball until the 1980s, plays Houston on Saturday night. What an outrageous tournament we found ourselves in once again.