FLORIDA- South Florida is the center of collegiate men’s basketball!
This year, the University of Miami and Florida Atlantic University made the NCAA Division I Final Four, and Nova Southeastern won the Division II National Championship.
Let’s take a look at these team’s historic seasons
Nova Southeastern
The Sharks had a season for the ages, going a perfect 36-0. Led by a high-octane offense that averaged over 100 PPG, and a margin of victory over 25 points, Nova could not be stopped. The Sharks were led in scoring by Graduate Student, Forward, Will Yoakum, who averaged 20 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Nova Southeastern won their third Sunshine State Conference Championship with wins over Barry University (106-71), Florida Tech (95-89), and Embry Riddle University (92-69).
On March 25th, Nova Southeastern faced West Liberty for the Division II National Championship. The Sharks defeated the Hilltoppers 111-101 to secure their first National Championship in program history. They were led in scoring by Will Yoakum, who had 31 points.
Nova Southeastern is the sixth team in NCAA Division II history to finish as undefeated National Champions.
Florida Atlantic University
The FAU Owls turned heads across the country this year. Head Coach Dusty May led his squad to a historic 35-3 record, which earned them a bid in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The Owls averaged 78 points per game, with a margin of victory of 13 points. Florida Atlantic was led in scoring by Sophomore, Guard, Johnell Davis, who averaged 13.9 points per game.
FAU took home multiple Conference-USA Postseason awards:
Head Coach, Dusty May: CUSA Coach of the Year
Guard, Johnell Davis: Sixth Man of the Year, First-Team All Conference.
Guard, Alijah Martin: First-Team All Conference.
Forward, Vladislav Goldin: Third-Team All Conference
Florida Atlantic won their first Conference USA championship, after defeating Western Kentucky (75-51), Middle Tennessee State (68-65), and UAB (78-56). Their Conference USA Championship secured their place in the NCAA Tournament.
FAU decided to ruin everyone’s brackets by defeating No. 8 seed Memphis (66-65), No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (78-70), No. 4 seed Tennessee (62-55), and No. 3 seed Kansas State (79-76).
The Owls have advanced to the Final Four in Houston, where they will play against San Diego State on Saturday, April 1st.
University of Miami
Hurricanes hoops created a storm through the ACC. Jim Larrañaga’s team went 29-7 on the way to a March Madness appearance.
Miami scored an average of 80 points per game, with an average margin of victory of 8 points. The Hurricanes were led in scoring by Redshirt Jr., Guard, Isaiah Wong, who averaged 16.2 points per game.
The University of Miami was the 2023 ACC Regular Season Champions, however, they lost to eventual ACC Tournament Champion Duke (85-78) in the semifinals.
The Hurricanes also won multiple ACC honors, including:
Guard, Isaiah Wong: First Team All-ACC, ACC Player of the Year
Guard, Jordan Miller: Second Team All-ACC
Forward, Norchad Omier: Third Team All-ACC
Due to their impressive record, the Hurricanes were invited to the NCAA Tournament. They have dominated their opponents, defeating Drake (63-56), Indiana (85-69), Houston (89-75) and Texas (88-81).
The Hurricanes have advanced to the Final Four, where they will play UConn on Saturday, April 1st.
Congratulations to all three Universities! This is the first season in NCAA Division I Tournament history where two Florida schools will play in the Final Four!
