FAU believes ‘no moment will be too big’ as it chases first basketball national title
It was all new for Florida Atlantic’s men’s basketball team.
The Top 25 national ranking. The 20-game winning streak. The 35-win season.
There are more firsts in store this weekend as the Owls play in their first Final Four and, they hope, their first national championship game.
But because FAU has been getting used to that “new” feeling the entire season and succeeding anyway, Owls coach Dusty May isn’t worried about how his team will react to playing on the biggest stage it ever has.
“This year was an anomaly from our past several years because of all the media attention we had during our 20-game winning streak,” May said earlier this week. “As a coach you’re always observing your players and how they respond and it’s amazing how these guys worked harder and were more focused on what they were doing so they could gain more success.
“I would be shocked if there was a moment that was too big for them.”
The Owls will take the experience they’ve gained from a historic season for their program and try to use it to their advantage when they take on San Diego State at 6:09 p.m. in the first of two national semifinals at NRG Stadium in Houston.
A victory for FAU (35-3), which won the East Region of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed, would earn it a date with either the Miami Hurricanes or the UConn Huskies on Monday night in the national championship game.
The Owls have been in Houston since Wednesday, trying to keep things routine amid the hoopla of the Final Four as they prepare to face the Aztecs (31-6), who won the South Region as a No. 5 seed.
“I think these two days are important just to get comfortable,” May said during the team’s Final Four press conference on Thursday. “Any different environment or surroundings you want to acclimate yourself and feel more comfortable when it’s time to perform. I still don’t think our guys are going to be fazed by the 70-plus-thousand lights, the attention, because they love ball. They love to compete. And they have a lot of faith in their teammates. I think it’s what’s gotten us to this point.”
The difference in the participants in this year’s event to past years would appear to give the Owls as good a chance as any of the other three contenders.
This is the first time since seeding for the Tournament began in 1979 that no teams seeded higher than No. 4 made it to the Final Four and FAU, Miami and San Diego State give the event three first-time qualifiers for the first time since 1970.
“I love to see it just because it’s an opportunity for those outside of the national spotlight to be on the big stage and show what they can do,” May said.
San Diego State is looking for only its second national championship in any sport, adding to its 1973 men’s volleyball title in a program the school no longer carries.
But, like FAU, San Diego State would appear to be a Cinderella underdog in name alone.
You could argue the Aztecs might have been making their second Final Four appearance had the Tournament not been canceled in 2020 at the onset of the COVID pandemic since they were 30-2 heading into the postseason and vying for a No. 1 seed.
San Diego State also presents potentially the biggest defensive challenge FAU has faced yet this season. The Aztecs have the fourth-best adjusted defensive efficiency in the nation, averaging 89.9 points allowed per 100 possessions according to KenPom.com.
While both teams look to multiple options for its offense, the Owls have been much more prolific at that end of the floor led by the guard tandem of Johnell Davis (13.9 points per game) and Alijah Martin (13.1 points) and 7-1 sophomore center Vladislav Goldin (10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game) in the frontcourt.
Goldin, a transfer from Texas Tech, will look to give FAU an edge once again inside as he did in the Elite Eight against Kansas State when he recorded a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Aztecs will likely turn to 6-10 senior forward Nathan Mensah to match up with Goldin.
“(Mensah) allows for us guards to pressure up a little bit more because if we get beat, we know he’s going to have our back,” San Diego State guard Lamont Butler said. “He’s going to clean it up at the glass. And also he can guard guards. We can switch, and he can stay in front. He can guard them, make them shoot tough shots.”
The Owls could have an advantage though on the offensive end with the 24th-best offensive efficiency per KenPom while San Diego State’s offense ranks 74th. FAU is averaging 78.8 points per game - over six points more than the Aztecs’ 72.1 points per game.
“We’re going to take the matchup as any other game,” Martin said. “They’re a lot like us. We practice every day. We’ll be well-prepared. Take what the game gives us.”
Miami Herald writer Chris Damond contributed to this report.
