As we have entered the thick of college basketball conference play, the Florida Atlantic Owls have shown that their seemingly “Cinderella” run to the Final Four in 2023 may not have been a fluke like some seem. The team is still sitting at 20th in the AP Poll and is a solid 17-4 overall while being 7-1 in the AAC. This leaves them tied with the Charlotte 49ers at the top of the leaderboard.
The Owls currently are riding a six-game win streak and they have scored at least 65 points in all of those matchups. Defensively, Florida Atlantic looked shaky for a lot of their wins during this streak, but in the most recent games against Rice and North Texas, they did not allow more than 65 points.
Florida Atlantic Is Getting Contributions from Several Players
And that North Texas win on Sunday? Well, a game-winning shot was nailed by star player Johnell Davis, who has dazzled the college basketball world once again this season even after a memorable run back in March that sent the Owls to the Final Four in Houston.
Playing this on repeat 🔁 #WinningInParadise pic.twitter.com/rBg5yOxvb2
— Florida Atlantic Men's Basketball (@FAUMBB) January 28, 2024
The junior guard has averaged 18.6 points and nearly 7 rebounds a game this season. He also has a season field goal percentage of 50.6% and this is while taking 12 attempts a game and playing 31 minutes in each contest. This all puts him as a top-five scorer in the AAC and the second-best free throw shooter in the conference.
The Owls have also support in the low post from their center Vladislav Golden who is averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds a game. He also has begun to provide a presence on defense with at least a recorded block in all of the games during the FAU win streak. Goldin was due for a big season because of his rebounding from the NCAA tournament a year ago and his double-double in the elite 8 against the Kansas State Wildcats.
Davis and Goldin are the two keys to this team’s success going forward. Head coach Dusty May mentioned that in an interview this season with The Field of 68
“We were without Goldin and [Johnell] Davis…I mean let’s be honest, we are a different team when you take away two all-league caliber players.”
As the season moves on, Florida Atlantic is getting lots of praise from the Kenpom for their offense. They are the 12th most efficient offense in the country putting them at 27th overall in efficiency ratings among all teams in college hoops. They are the highest AAC team in the Kenpom and their offense should be on display even more with how their remaining schedule is. The opponents left on the schedule rank 112th on the Kenpom when it comes to defensive abilities.
Florida Atlantic Has an Interesting Schedule Coming Up
A matchup to watch out for is when FAU meets up with the Memphis Tigers, which will happen twice in Boca Raton and on the road in West Tennessee. It is a rematch from last season’s thrilling round of 64 matchup that saw the Owls bring down Memphis 66-65. Although the Tigers are currently on a three-game losing streak, they are 15-5 overall and have high-quality wins over Clemson, Texas A&M, and Virginia. Memphis beat those teams consecutively back in December.
Wins over a gritty Memphis team boosts what would be another great resume for the Owls in 2024 heading into March Madness. And because of the success they had last March as a 9th seed, a higher seed could be awarded to FAU and it sets them up to make another deep run.
The next game for Florida Atlantic pins them up against the Tusla Golden Hurricane who are 2-5 in American Athletic Conference play. The game is on Saturday, February 3rd with tip-off at 6 p.m. E.T. inside of Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.