No. 9 Florida Atlantic Upsets No. 4 Tennessee in Sweet 16 With Dominant Second Half

The Owls will face No. 3 Kansas State in the Elite Eight.

No. 9 Florida Atlantic continued to dominate the East Region of the 2023 NCAA men’s tournament after upsetting No. 4 Tennessee 62–55 on Thursday night in the Sweet 16.

After trailing by as many as nine points in the first half, the Owls came back charging in the second half. FAU took its first lead of the game (other than leading 3–2 at the contest’s start) with 9:50 minutes left and never looked back. The Owls scored 40 points in the second half after only scoring 22 in the first half.

FAU finished the game running a football inspired play, something they’ve incorporated into their game during the tournament.

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Once again, Florida Atlantic ices the game with MESH! pic.twitter.com/pxItP037jU

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) March 24, 2023

Owls guard Johnell Davis led the team in scoring with 15 points, coming off a 29-point game vs. Fairleigh Dickinson in the second round.

Florida Atlantic is the first team in men’s college basketball to reach 34 wins this season. This is the first tournament appearance for the Owls since 2002.

Florida Atlantic will face No. 3 Kansas State in the Elite Eight on Saturday. The Wildcats beat No. 7 Michigan State on Thursday night in an intense matchup that went to overtime.