Florida Atlantic Scouting Report

The Tennessee Volunteers face Florida Atlantic on Thursday. FAU is one of the winningest college basketball teams this season and bring some challenging tests for the Vols.

Following a 78-70 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, The Florida Atlantic Owls will be in the sweet sixteen on Thursday facing the Tennessee Volunteers in Madison Square Garden. 

Before this season, the Owls have never won an NCAA tournament game. Their only other tournament appearance came in 2002, where they were a 15-seed. They lost to Alabama in the opening round that year. This season has been nothing short of special for Florida Atlantic. They are tied with Houston for the most wins in the country at 32 now for the season. 

Of those wins, 18 were in Conference USA play which allowed them to finish with an 18-2 record. They also went on to win the C-USA tournament. In the conference tournament, they would beat Western Kentucky and UAB by 24 and 22 points, respectively. 

Brandon Weatherspoon, Florida Atlantic G

That type of dominance was seen all throughout conference play during the season. FAU won eight of their conference games by double-digits. These lop-sided wins that have been common have a lot to do with the Owls' elite offense. They have three players (Johnell Davis, Alijah Martin, and Vladislav Goldin) that average double figures in points. As a team, the Owls average 78.8 points per game. 

The KenPom also puts FAU as a top 40 team on offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. It also has the Owls as the 22nd most efficient team overall. In the NCAA Tournament, Memphis was Florida Atlantic's matchup in round one. It was a 66-65 victory for the Owls and was a tough test to open with. However, they looked more fluid on offense and looked more like themselves in the win on Sunday against FDU. 

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