March Madness: FAU has the experience, and the scars, for another NCAA Tournament run
Eighth-seeded Florida Atlantic has the opportunity to make another postseason splash in this year's NCAA Tournament. The Owls' first shot will be a first-round matchup against No. 9 Northwestern on Friday in Brooklyn.
After playing with house money last March amid low expectations and reaching the Final Four, the expectations being laid upon the Owls (25-8) have risen. But for head coach Dusty May and his players, the standard of excellence within the program have stayed the same all season.
"Our group, after last year's run, expected this," May said. "But the expectations didn't include entitlement. They worked extremely hard, played a very difficult schedule. One where they were forced to perform at a high, high level on a night-in, night-out basis. And so this is well deserved for our guys."
FAU guard Nick Boyd said he and his teammates are well aware of the expectations and pressure that follows them a year after falling short of the finals on a last-second shot by San Diego State.
"We think about that all the time," Boyd said. "You felt it all this year. We had a lot of ups and downs, highs, lows. And this is a new season, and a new opportunity to have fun and play the game we love. ... I'd say [we're] desperate, we're hungry. Even though we're the eight-seed, I feel like we're the underdogs this tournament."
This season, the Owls have seen deeper depths than last year's Final Four team, despite, for the most part, having the same rotational talent. Instead of a three-loss conference regular-season and tournament championship team, the Owls failed to defend either title and have eight losses - mostly recently at the hands of 11th-seeded Temple (16-20) in the AAC semifinal last Saturday.
Owls have not suffered back-to-back losses in 72 games
The speedbumps are just that - small hurdles meant to be driven past and left in the rearview mirror. FAU has been able to do that for a long time. The Owls haven't lost twice in a row in 72 games, and they have played every game after a loss with fervor. Expect the same energy against the Wildcats (21-11).
"We're a mature group," guard Alijah Martin said. "We respond to adversity well. That just shows the characters of the individuals, and our coaching staff as the leaders."
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Added Bryan Greenlee: "I can't even explain it. Obviously we lost one in the conference tournament, and our spirits were a little bit down. But this reignited us, we're all extremely motivated and we're just ready to get going to be honest."
May said his team has always responded well to adversity.
"Whether it's their backs being against the wall, or needing a stop or a basket," May said. "So I just think they have a great way of responding and usually after a loss, it's an opportunity to grow and refocus and our guys, with their growth mindset, they typically do that."
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Another valuable piece to this squad's mindset is the experience. They put together a magical run last March, took some lumps this year, and now return to New York where they picked up Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight wins over Tennessee and Kansas State, respectively.
"We're glad to be going back," said Jalen Gaffney, a New Jersey native. "We've had an up-and-down year, I'd say, like a rollercoaster. We knew this year was going to be harder than last year, people played their hardest against us, as we've seen. So just having that familiarity with the area and knowing that we played well in that area definitely helps out."
Greenlee had a warning for the Owls.
"We can't look too far ahead, we've just got to focus on the first opponent and lock all the way in," he said. "I'm just excited man, to be honest. It's not too much different going into it, just the experience, I would say."
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If the Owls get past the Wildcats, No. 1 overall seed and defending champion UConn awaits on Sunday - assuming the Huskies defeat 16th-seeded Stetson in Friday's second day game at Barclays Center.
"We knew that we were going to have a number of challenges this season after last year," May said. "A lot of times, teams aren't able to knock the wall down and keep going when they face those head-on. It just shows the character, the work ethic, the substance of our guys to stay together despite every loss feeling like we were letting people down and falling short of expectations. It's more just credit to their resolve, their determination, and who they are as people."
NCAA Tournament First Round
Florida Atlantic (8) vs. Northwestern (9)
Friday, 12:15 p.m., CBS
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: March Madness: FAU Owls ready for more NCAA Tournament success in New York
