Florida Atlantic’s magical season continues in the Elite Eight.
Prior to this season, FAU had never played in an NCAA tournament game in program history, which dates back to 1994 at the Division I level. After Thursday night’s disgruntled 62-55 win over Tennessee at the Sweet 16 in New York, the Owls have won three NCAA tournament games in a week, earning an improbable place in the Elite Eight in the process.
Tennessee, No. 4 in the East, are an experienced team that rely on their physicality, and it showed in last week’s Round of 32 win over Duke. And early in the game against FAU, the Tennessee defense got their way.
The Owls, number 9, turned the ball nine times in the first half and missed 11 of their 14 3-point attempts as Tennessee grabbed the paint and forced FAU to shoot over the top. Many of these outdoor shots were uncontested. Tennessee built a lead, but not a significant one. The Vols shot an atypical 42.9% from 3 in the Duke win but returned to their more typical shooting bouts in this one.
FAU boosted by one-man offensive sprint
Tennessee shot 31.3% from the field in the first half and only extended a 27-22 lead at the break. FAU changed their approach in the second half. The owls attacked the edge. Eight of their first 12 shots in the second half were two-point attempts and the Owls started making some shots and crushing the Vols’ lead.
The Owls also attacked the offensive glass and played a little sharper on the defensive. The tide had turned in the middle of the half.
FAU’s Michael Forrest put on an 8-0 personal run to turn a 39-35 Tennessee lead into a 43-39 lead by 9-10.
That run increased to 18-2, allowing FAU to hold the lead for the remainder of the game as their lead increased to as much as 10 points.
Tennessee had a recent run that cut the FAU lead to five points but couldn’t string together enough shots to defeat the mighty Owls, who will face No. 3 Kansas State at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
The story goes on
With the win, FAU became the seventh No. 9 to make the Elite Eight in NCAA tournament history.
Johnell Davis (1) led Florida Atlantic by 15 points in a riot against Tennessee in the East Region semifinals in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Tennessee’s offensive woes were costly
While Forrest’s personal 8-0 run fueled the comeback, Johnell Davis led FAU by 15 points after scoring just two goals in the first half. Nick Boyd added 12 points and eight rebounds while Forrest finished with 11.
FAU ended up shooting 42% from the field, a far better mark than Tennessee’s 33.3%. Even more impressively, FAU won the battle on the boards 40-36, edging out Tennessee on second chance points (14-12) and points in the suit (26-22).
On the Tennessee side, only Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo reached double digits, but they only had 10 points each. Leading scorers Santiago Vescovi and Olivier Nkamhoua combined for 15 points on 5-of-20 from the field. It was a big step backwards on a big stage for UT’s veterans, especially after Nkamhoua posted a career-high 27 points in the second-round win over Duke. The absence of starter Zakai Zeigler, who is out due to a knee injury, was clearly noticeable in the Vols.
Tennessee has made the NCAA tournament five times in his eight seasons under head coach Rick Barnes, but has never progressed past the Sweet 16. Barnes hasn’t coached a team into the Elite Eight since 2008 when he was in Texas. That means he’s made 11 straight tournament appearances without making the Sweet 16.