March Madness took on a new meaning in 2023 with a number of crazy finishes, upsets, and Cinderellas. The Final Four did not feature a single 1, 2, or 3 seed, and three of the four teams that made it to the Final Four were newcomers. Perhaps the darlings of the NCAA Tournament this year was Florida Atlantic University, a little known school based in Boca Raton that has a home arena that seats 2,900 fans, putting together a Cinderella run for the ages. However, their hopes of winning a national title ended in heartbreaking fashion, but the season they had is nothing to be ashamed about. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look at how they got here.
Florida Atlantic entered the 2022/23 season as an afterthought, but they made headlines in early 2023 when they appeared in the AP Top 25 rankings on January 16. It was the program’s first ever appearance inside the Top 25. Despite this remarkable feat, FAU was able to fly under the radar due to the fact that they compete in the Conference-USA. The Owls were able to win the 2023 Conference-USA Tournament title and secured their second ever NCAA Tournament appearance. They previously made the NCAA Tournament back in 2002 when they were a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Owls won 35 games, the most by any Division One school for the 2022/23 season, losing just 3 games. They were being led by 5th-year Head Coach Dusty May.
Florida Atlantic entered the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a 9 seed. They faced 8th seeded Memphis in the first round. The Owls took that game 66-65 for the school’s first ever NCAA Tournament win. They had played in the NCAA Tournament as a 15 seed back in 2002, but lost in the first round against Alabama. The Owls’ next opponent was 16th seeded Fairleigh Dickinson who had just taken down number 1 seed Purdue in the opening round, the second 16 seed to beat a 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history with UMBC being the first to do so back in 2018 against Virginia. The Owls won that game 78-70 to advance to the Sweet 16 where they played Tennessee. FAU beat Tennessee in the Sweet 16 and Kansas State in the Elite 8 to make it to their first ever Final Four, where they matched up against San Diego State who were also playing in their first ever Final Four. Florida Atlantic had SDSU on the ropes midway through the second half when they had a 14-point lead over the Aztecs, but poor shooting by the Owls allowed San Diego State to come back into the game. The Aztecs eventually won the game on a two-point shot as time expired leading to a final score of 72-71 in favor of the Aztecs. It was a heartbreaking finish to the season for the Owls, in what was their last game as a member of the Conference-USA. They will be competing in the American Athletic Conference starting with the 2023/24 season.
The Owls were led by 5th-year Head Coach Dusty May. FAU won 17 games in each of May’s first two seasons at the helm. They won just 13 games in year three, and they won 19 games last season. The fact that they won 35 games in the 2022/23 season and got all the way to the Final Four in their second ever tournament appearance is something to celebrate. They brought a brand new meaning to the term Cinderella. They won the hearts of many as they plowed through the tournament. The Owls were hoping to become the first seed ranked 9 or lower to win a national title. This year would have been the most ideal time to do it, but it wasn’t meant to be.
San Diego State will play UConn in the title game on Monday.
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