NEW YORK — FAU coach Dusty May gave Johnell Davis a big bear hug. Time ticked down, the horns blared, the backboards flashed red and the party was on.
The Beach Boys 79, Kansas State 76. God only knows what’s in store for this group next weekend.
FAU, a No. 9 seed, has laid down a quintessential feel-good March Madness story – but this team is no underdog and it is no Cinderella. At 35-3, the Owls were an obvious false start on selection Sunday and have only proved that rating more outrageously in the two weeks since. These birds of prey howl, roar and will fly to Houston for the Final Four, fearless of no one.
“You can call us whatever you want, but we’re a bunch of pit bulls and rottweilers,” said third-year player Alijah Martin.
In macro, all this is unbelievable and obviously improbable. Say it out loud and keep convincing yourself that this is the reality: FAU is going into the Final Four.
A program that didn’t exist until 1988 and didn’t have an NCAA tournament win until 10 days ago is now on its way to college basketball’s biggest stage. FAU hasn’t even cracked the AP Top 25 up until this season. A team just a phone call, a whistle away from losing to Memphis in a grinder of a first-round affair took their chances and flew into the Final Four.
This is the tournament for you.
And on Saturday, a thriller at Madison Square Garden. K-State’s Markquis Nowell was rightfully named the East Regional’s most outstanding player with 30 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in a valiant effort two days after his unforgettable performance against Michigan State in the Sweet 16. Nowell was the star player. FAU is the history of this tournament. It doesn’t have a star, and that’s the wonderful thing about it. A largely anonymous cast of cutthroat players from Conference USA has once again redefined the possibilities of the bracket.
FAU was tougher on Saturday. It ripped away the dream of K-State and put the Wildcats out of contention for a straight record eight in an Elite Eight affair.
May’s group is relentless, and she was as malleable in her game on Saturday night as has proven all season. Not only is this list deep and experienced — they have experience with each other.
“You always rely on belief that it’s going to happen, but you never really know,” May said. “In this age where everyone wants the whole pie, these guys shared the pie every day, and that.” was the result.”
Eight of the nine FAU players in the basic rotation have spent years together at this school. That counts. College basketball overall hasn’t been this old (due to the COVID bonus year) in decades.
The owls only play guys with at least two years of experience – and most have four or five.
“There is no substitute for experience and these guys have often had stressful moments,” May said.
They’re a composite sketch of reliable basketball, and in typical FAU fashion, they’ve done it again as a collective against third-ranked Kansas State. Calmly as always, FAU’s biggest deficit came 11:25 before the end, K-State was up 57:50. That’s when most mid-majors wither.
Not here.
In the minutes that followed, the Owls continued their roughly 100th run of this stellar season, trailing the Wildcats 22-7 and leading 72-64.
For any given possession, it can be anyone. You watch this team to see what type it will be from one moment to the next.
“It’s just tenacity,” May said.
It was a 3-pointer from Alijah Martin that put it 70-64 deep into the second half and on the ensuing possession Martin coolly sunk two foul shots at 2:42 to extend the lead to 72-64. FAU won’t win on Saturday without Martin and his team best of 17 points. who is this guy Once upon a time, Martin had a photoshop done to volunteer with McNeese State. He made a late move to FAU after another player was sacked by FAU. He was the program’s first COVID signee; They got him to commit after taking a campus tour on a golf cart using an iPad on FaceTime.
The stories and choices that make up a Final Four fairy tale.
“We love being together and it shows on the pitch,” Martin said.
Martin’s offensive rebound from a missed foul shot allowed Davis to sink a bucket and give FAU a 74-69 lead by 1:15.
Davis. FAU comes to the Final Four because of the likes of Davis. The ones they call “Nelly”. FAU coaches often called Nelly to make sure he was studying. He would say yes. But they would hear the basketball bounce. Nelly is smart, and on Saturday he had 13 points and six assists to push the Owls forward.
FAU is also coming into the Final Four because of Mike Forrest, the cool fifth-grader who sunk four free throws in the last 17.9 seconds to claim the win. Forrest was May’s first recruit at FAU, the multi-state championship guy from a respected South Florida high school program.
His parents once watched him play Pickup at FAU during his recruitment and walked out in disgust. At several points May thought he would never come. Forrest is the one who has been with May since the beginning. The guy who, as a freshman, went from point guard to shooting guard as a sophomore when junior came off the bench, faced a senior, and then accepted a role again from the bench in this, his fifth, year.
Forrest was the one who brought legitimacy to the program nearly five years ago, and he was the one who got the team a ticket to Houston with those four foul shots on Saturday night.
FAU also comes into the Final Four because of Vlad Goldin, the humble, badass 7ft 1 Russian. He orders two bowls of food on every Chipotle trip and has been known to down a box of ice cream bars on the way back to FAU campus after shopping. Goldin changed the game for the Owls, throwing K-State off balance multiple times. He had 14 points and 13 rebounds. An absolute eye-catcher.
This East Regional was a New York homecoming for Nowell, of course, but also for FAU’s Nick Boyd. The funniest guy on the team. The guy most heavily recruited by Marist but signed with FAU during COVID restrictions and barely survived 14 days in a hotel quarantine before staying. They almost lost him somewhere else two years ago. He has endured multiple injuries in recent years. Broken foot twice. Never deterred. An important factor in this tournament.
Another guy who makes this possible.
FAU made the Final Four thanks to Bryan Greenlee, an elite defenseman who enjoys meditating on the beach just minutes from campus. The Owls are done without his 16 points in 21 minutes against K-State.
“A lot of times people try to hit home runs to close that lead and we don’t really get upset in situations where we’re behind,” Greenlee said.
This is happening because of Jalen Gaffney, a transfer who humbled himself and left the ranks of the power conference to restart the late stages of his college career. His inclusion in that squad was an understated reason why FAU have won 35 of their 38 games.
His current team and his former one – UConn – are both heading to Houston.
The biggest story in America starts from Boca Raton, Florida. A story only possible in such a reliably insane tournament. Amidst the madness and chaos, a group of owls who were unshakable. This is the ninth time a team seeded ninth or below has made the Final Four. The previous eight didn’t get another win. The last team to reach the Final Four that same year won its first tournament game: George Mason (2006). These patriots laid down a template that was converted into a new blueprint by FAU.
People expected this team to stumble at some point. It has to, doesn’t it? No tire story, no regular March. FAU shouldn’t be here. To hell with expectations.
“They can say whatever they want, say we’re a Cinderella team, say we don’t belong, but we’ve been proving people wrong all season,” Greenlee said.
FAU is exactly where it should be. This has been one of the best teams in college basketball all season. They already have the most guaranteed wins of any team in the sport. After toppling Tennessee and outsmarting Kansas State, getting two more doesn’t seem too difficult. This team is capable of winning the national championship.