HOUSTON, TEXAS- In front of a very loud and large audience of 71,000 at NRG Stadium for the Final 4, the FAU Owls and San Diego State Aztecs battled it out for a chance to play in the National Title game.
Do you know how the game ended? Yes, history was made. It was straight up Madness, which makes sense because it is March Madness, but still, the outcome was unexpected.
Lamont Butler of SDSU called game, drilling a game-winning jumper at the buzzer, completing an insane comeback victory for the Aztecs, 72-71.
This is March. What a game-winner. A buzzer-beater wins it for SDSU. INSANITY. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/r5BX1txXO9
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) April 2, 2023
FAU took control the entire game, until the final seconds. Johnell Davis missed a tough, contested layup, and Nathan Mensah grabbed the rebound with nine seconds left. San Diego State pushed the ball up the court, and the ball was in the hands of Butler, who knocked down a jumper that sent SDSU to the championship game.
It ends a miracle season for the FAU Owls, who weren’t just the No. 9 seed, but they were a C-USA team that no one talked about.
In the end, Boca’s team led by Dusty May comes up just one game short of winning the National Championship, but the FAU Owls put themselves on the national map. Furthermore, FAU proved that any underdog is capable of winning and any C-USA team can go face to face and beat a Power 5 school. While the Owls failed to beat San Diego State, FAU beat Memphis, FDU, Tennessee, and Kansas State.
Stat-wise, everything was neck-and-neck. Hence, the final score was a one point margin. However, the stats are deceiving; FAU had all of the momentum for literally the entire game.
In the first half, FAU shot 53% from the field while SDSU shot 44% from the field. The second half was the opposite; FAU shot only 33.3% while SDSU shot 42.9%.
The Owls led by 14 points in the second half at one point thanks to the amazing play of Alijah Martin, who dropped 26 points. However, Matt Bradley’s 21 points and SDSU’s ability to record offensive rebounds proved to be the difference (even though one game-winning buzzer-beater changed the difference from a loss to a win).
It was truly a heartbreaking ending, and the difference maker could be attributed to Johnell Davis’ missed layup or his lackluster performance, recording a tournament-low eight points. Davis has not scored under eight points in a game since February 23rd.
I asked Davis after the game how he would describe the season, using only one word. Davis said “great”. Senior Michael Forrest was asked the same question, and he said “amazing”. They may be generic words, but they truly have meaning and are true.
What’s Next?
Simply, there is only phrase that can be said: what a ride.
35 wins. A tournament run all the way to FAU’s first Final Four. FAU was ranked for the first time. And FAU had the nation’s best 20-game winning-streak.
Dusty May will be back next season after signing a new contract. Expect FAU to return the majority of their star players. While the Owls will face tougher competition next season due to the switch to the AAC, FAU now knows what it takes to make a deep March Madness run.
Most importantly, FAU knows how it feels to come up one game short.
PHOTOS BY: Christian Proscia
