Florida Atlantic Set for First NCAA Tournament Since 2002

Columbus, Ohio – The year was 2002. Smart phones were years away from dominating society, Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" was the billboard number one song of the year. The top film of the year was the very first Spider-Man movie. A 39-year-old Michael Jordan was playing for the Washington Wizards on the tail-end of his career, while a soon to be 18-year-old Lebron James was starting to draw eyes from a high school basketball court in Akron, Ohio.

It was also the last time Florida Atlantic University's men basketball team earned a bid in the NCAA Tournament, until this year.

No. 9 Seed Florida Atlantic (31-3) vs. No. 8 Seed Memphis (26-8)
Game Details	Columbus, Ohio \| March 17 \| Nationwide Arena 9:20 p.m. ET
Game Coverage	Watch: \| TNT \| Tickets Listen: FoxSports 640am South Florida \| Twitter: @FAUMBB \|
FAU Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule
Memphis Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule

On March 14, 2002, the last appearance in the Big Dance for FAU, the 2022-23 Owls were just toddlers; some were not even born yet. The oldest member of the Owls, fifth year-senior guard Michael Forrest, was three-years-old.

Now, the Owls are finally making a return to the Big Dance for a story that is 21 years in the making. A historic, record-breaking 2022-23 season has propelled Florida Atlantic men's basketball to be a part of March Madness once again.

As the Eastern region's No. 9 seed (and No. 25 AP ranked team in the nation) Florida Atlantic will take on the No. 8 seed (and No. 24 ranked) Memphis Tigers on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. E.T.

While FAU has only previous played Memphis once in school history, the Owls against Tigers will be a very familiar rivalry in the future with Florida Atlantic moving to the AAC beginning in the 2023-24 season.

For now, however, all eyes will be on the Owls on the national stage as they look to continue to make history.

Quotable

"We're excited for a great matchup against a storied program like the Memphis Tigers," FAU head coach Dusty May said. "Our guys, we prepared all year for this moment, and we're excited for the opportunity. It helps that this group is really, really together. They work and support each other. They bring out the best in each other. We knew we had the intangible qualities to have a special team. Then you have to make the shots, not turn the ball over, defend at a high level and do it for an extended amount of time several, several months. So we were very, very confident with intangibles of this group."

News & Notes

The Owls earned the automatic qualifying bid to March Madness after a decisive 78-56 victory over UAB to win the Conference USA tournament and championship
FAU's 22-point win is the fourth-largest margin of victory in a championship game this season
The Owls are used to blowout wins, with 12 games being won by 20 points or more this season and seven other games won by 10 points or more
At 31-3, FAU is tied for the most wins in the nation, along with Charleston and Houston
A herculean effort from sophomore guard Alijah Martin led the way in the final, tallying a monster double-double with 30 points and 11 rebounds
Johnell Davis also stood out during the three-game C-USA tournament, doing it on both ends of the floor. The Gary, Ind. product averaged 16.7 points on an absurd 60.7%. He snagged the ball at every opportunity with 11 steals, which is the most by any player in their conference tournament this year
The Owls have set FAU single-season records in 3-pointers (332) and rebounds (1,315)
Memphis is having a dream season of their own, with a major upset of Houston, the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, to win the American Athletic Conference Championship
The Tigers are led by two dynamic scorers: senior guard Kendric Davis, who stands at ninth in the nation averaging 22.1 points per game, along with fifth year guard Deandre Williams, who puts up 17.8 points per night

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Players Mentioned

Johnell Davis

Michael Forrest

Alijah Martin

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Florida Tech on October 30, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Boston College on November 3, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Charleston on November 8, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Liberty on November 9, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Coastal Georgia on November 17, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Pacific on November 20, 2025 at TBD

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