Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball

Last updated
Florida Atlantic Owls basketball
Basketball current event.svg 2024–25 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team
Florida Atlantic Owls wordmark.svg
UniversityFlorida Atlantic University
Head coach John Jakus (1st season)
Conference American Athletic Conference
Location Boca Raton, Florida
Arena Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena
(capacity: 2,900)
Nickname Owls
ColorsBlue and red [1]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away
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Alternate
NCAA tournament Final Four
2023
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
2023
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
2023
NCAA tournament round of 32
2023
NCAA tournament appearances
2002, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
Atlantic Sun: 2002
C-USA: 2023
Conference regular season champions
Sun Belt: 2011
C-USA: 2023
Conference division season champions
Sun Belt East: 2011

The Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represents Florida Atlantic University and competes in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I college basketball. Their home games are played on the Abessinio Court in the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on the school's Boca Raton, Florida campus. The Owls have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times, in 2002 while a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, 2023, and 2024. The Owls joined Conference USA (C-USA) in 2013 as part of the early-2010s NCAA conference realignment. After not winning a single NCAA Tournament game coming into 2023, the Owls qualified for their first Final Four in program history by defeating the Kansas State Wildcats 79–76. After the 2022–23 season, FAU left C-USA for the American Athletic Conference (The American). [2]

Contents

Overview and history

Florida Atlantic University basketball began play in the 1988–89 season. The Owls competed as an NCAA Division II independent until the 1993–94 season, when they moved up to Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference, now known as the ASUN Conference. After spending 11 seasons in the Atlantic Sun, the Owls moved to the Sun Belt Conference, with the rest of Florida Atlantic University's intercollegiate sports teams. The Owls moved to C-USA in July 2013, and then moved to The American in July 2023.

Beginning: FAU gets basketball (1988–1993)

Florida Atlantic University played its first-ever intercollegiate basketball contest on November 18, 1988, against fellow local NCAA Division II school, Palm Beach Atlantic University. The Owls won the game 111–62. Even though the newly formed college squad hung 111 points in their first game, they would finish the inaugural season 9–19, which included a 12-game losing streak in the middle of the year. Head coach, Lonnie Williams, was known to be a "program-builder", but after one year, left FAU after its first season to become head coach at the University of California, Davis. Williams would only last one year at UC Davis, posting an 11–16 record.

Replacing Williams was Penn State assistant coach, Tim Loomis. Loomis started his coaching career with a 21–7 record, and followed that up with back-to-back 15–13 seasons. The three consecutive winning seasons is a feat that no other Owls coach has ever matched, until Dusty May did it in his first three seasons. Along with the winning seasons, Loomis was able to schedule games against neighbor and powerhouse, University of Miami Hurricanes. Though Miami would beat the Owls soundly in the appearances, the ability to schedule games against them was seen as the Owls basketball program's growth. Loomis would lose the core of that inaugural team after the Owls' fourth season, and the Owls would suffer devastating 3–24 (1992–93) and 3–25 (1993–94) seasons the latter being their first official year as Division One. The members of these teams were true pioneers and super fundraisers for the athletic department as they hit the road to play teams like Florida State, Georgetown, and Iowa State while taking large paydays and suffering losses to higher ranked (#10 Georgetown) opponents. In fact, Loomis' team beat NC State on the road in 1993–94 to become the first Atlantic Sun team to ever beat an ACC team at the time.

Move to Division I (1993–2005)

The 1993–94 season would mark the beginning of the Owls competition in the NCAA Division I. The Owls joined the Atlantic Sun Conference later, mostly due to the fact that the Owls baseball team was exceeding expectations so early in its development. In 1994–95, the team improved to 9–19 while in Loomis' last year. The team repeated that win total in 1995–96 under new coach Kevin Billerman but showed improvement by taking South Florida, Saint Louis, and Southern Illinois to close road losses determined by the last possession, while winning two conference games to end the season. Former Duke Blue Devil captain and leader, Kevin Billerman, was hired to further lead the Owls into Division I; his second season produced the most wins of any Division One FAU men's basketball coach up to that point. Due to NCAA's rule, the Owls were not eligible for the NCAA tournament for four years, with their first season of tournament eligibility coming in 1993–94. In Billerman's four seasons, the Owls had two 20+ loss seasons (his last two) and only one winning season (his second).

For the 1999–2000 season, FAU hired decorated UNLV All-American forward/center and NBA first-round draft pick Sidney Green. In his first season, Green's Owls went 2–28, with a 25-game losing streak in the middle of the season. In each of his first and second seasons, the Owls would win their opening round game in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, but would lose in the second round.

2001–02 season: A-Sun champions

During the 2001–02 season, Green would lead the Owls to his only winning season, as FAU finished 19–12 and 13–7 in the Atlantic Sun. In the first-round of the 2002 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, FAU would again win their opening game, this time defeating Jacksonville University. The Owls would break their second-round losing tradition, beating Jacksonville State University. In the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, the Owls faced Georgia State University and won 76–75, clinching their first conference championship and a bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

In the 2002 NCAA tournament, the Owls were seeded as a 15-seed, and placed in the South Region, and were paired with 2-seed Alabama. Though the Owls hung tight throughout the game, heavily favored Alabama held on to win 86–78.

Green was fired after the 2004–05 season and the Owls landed former NCAA Coach of the Year and Tar Heel Matt Doherty. Doherty led the Owls to a 15–13 record and then left abruptly to become the head coach at Southern Methodist University.

With the rapid success of the football program, created from scratch just in 2001, the Florida Atlantic sports programs again moved up in level of competition. This time, the Owls would move to the Sun Belt Conference, and basketball played its first season of competition in the Sun Belt in the 2006–07 season. To replace Doherty, assistant coach and former Kansas Jayhawk star, Rex Walters, was elevated. In his first season, Walters' Owls were 16–15 and 10–8 in the Sun Belt. The 16–15 marked the first time FAU posted back-to-back winning seasons since the 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons. The 10–8 conference record was only the fourth time the Owls had a winning record in conference play. Walters' sophomore season regressed a bit, as FAU finished 15–18. After the 2007–08 season completed, Rex Walters accepted the head coaching job at the University of San Francisco, and for the third time in four years, the Owls were searching for a new coach.

FAU hired Mike Jarvis as their new coach. Jarvis had been the head coach at Boston University, George Washington University and, most recently, St. John's University. Between the three schools, Jarvis led his teams to nine total NCAA tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight appearance with St. John's in 1999. Jarvis was fired from St. John's on December 19, 2003—the first Big East Conference coach to be fired during the season. It later emerged that school officials had fired Jarvis in part due to a series of embarrassing off-court incidents. Among these, a junior college transfer had been charged with assaulting a female student, and a senior guard had been kicked off the team after being caught smoking marijuana near St. John's campus in Queens. During the 2003–04 season, St. John's center Abe Keita claimed that a member of Jarvis's basketball staff had paid him nearly $300 a month for the past four seasons. As a result, St. John's placed itself on two years' probation, withdrew from postseason consideration for the 2004–05 season, and forfeited 43 wins including the 2002 NCAA Tournament and the 2003 NIT. Jarvis was faulted for not properly monitoring Keita's situation. After his ouster, Jarvis was criticized for ignoring New York City's rich pool of high school players, which particularly rankled fans used to seeing national powerhouses built primarily on New York City talent. At FAU, he looked to become the first coach in NCAA basketball history to win 100 games at four different schools. Following the 2014 season, Jarvis resigned after reports indicated that he was going to be fired. [3] [4] He finished with a 76–112 after six years in Boca Raton.

On April 7, 2014, the school hired Michael Curry, a former NBA player and coach of the Detroit Pistons. [5] Curry's teams never finished with more than 12 wins overall or more than six wins in conference. They never finished higher than 11th in C-USA. Following the hiring of a new athletic director, Brian White, Curry was fired after four seasons at the school and a 39–84 record. [6]

Dusty May era and 2023 Final Four run (since 2018)

May in 2023 Dusty May FAU.jpg
May in 2023

White, brother to then-Florida head coach Mike White, thanked Curry for his years at FAU, but saw no reason the Owls could not compete in C-USA. [6] On March 22, 2018, the school hired Florida assistant coach Dusty May as head coach. [7]

The FAU Owls began to experience much improved results and consistent success under May, as they finished that first season in 2018-19 with an above .500 record at 17-15 and an invite to the 2019 CIT, where they lost to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in the first round, 68-66. The Owls followed that success with winning records in each of the first 5 seasons with Dusty May at the helm.

The 2022-23 FAU Owls, led by May, had their most successful season in program history, going 31-3 en-route to winning that season’s Conference USA Championship for both the regular season and the conference tournament. During that season, FAU was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in school history, as they at one point won 20 consecutive games. In March of 2023, the Owls made the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history and remarkably, made it to the Final Four in Houston after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats 79-76 in the Elite Eight at Madison Square Garden. The Owls then narrowly lost to the San Diego State Aztecs in that Final Four, 72-71, as San Diego State’s Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beating jumpshot to help the Aztecs advance to the 2023 NCAA Tournament National Championship Game. The 2022-23 FAU Owls finished the season 35-4, the most wins of any program in Men’s Division I College Basketball that season.

Head coaches

Current coaching staff

NameCurrent TitleJoined
FAU		Alma mater
Dusty May Head coach 2018 Indiana
Todd AbernethyAssistant coach2019 Mississippi
Drew WilliamsonAssistant coach2021 Old Dominion
Kyle ChurchAssistant coach2018 Charlotte
Brandon GilbertAssistant to the head coach2018 Florida
KT HarrellDirector of Basketball Operations2022 Auburn

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Owls have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times. Their combined record to date is 4–3.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResult
2002 No. 15First RoundNo. 2 AlabamaL 78–86
2023 No. 9First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four		No. 8 Memphis
No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson
No. 4 Tennessee
No. 3 Kansas State
No. 5 San Diego State		W 66–65
W 78–70
W 62–55
W 79–76
L 71–72
2024 No. 8First RoundNo. 9 NorthwesternL 65–77 OT

NIT results

The Owls have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) once. Their record is 0–1.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2011 First RoundMiami (FL)L 62–85

CBI results

The Owls have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational once. Their combined record is 0–1.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2022 First RoundNorthern ColoradoL 71–74

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) results

The Owls have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 0–1.

YearRoundOpponentResult
2019 First RoundCharleston SouthernL 66–68

Team records

All-time record vs. current AAC teams

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current AAC opponents as of the completion of the 2022–23 season:

OpponentGames PlayedWonLostPercentageStreakFirst MeetingRecent Meeting
Charlotte 1486.571Won 420142023
East Carolina 422.500Lost 119932015
Memphis 211.500Won 119932023
North Texas 22814.363Won 220072023
Rice 1064.600Won 420142023
SMU 202.000Lost 119971998
South Florida 16214.125Lost 219932019
Temple 000--------
Tulane 505.000Lost 519932014
Tulsa 101.000Lost 120142014
UAB 18513.278Won 120082023
UTSA 16106.625Won 320142023
Wichita State 101.000Lost 119981998
Through April 1, 2023.

Owls in international leagues

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represented Florida Atlantic University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by fourth-year head coach Michael Curry, played their home games at the FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Florida as members of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 12–19, 6–12 in C-USA play, to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the C-USA tournament to UAB.

The 2018–19 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represented Florida Atlantic University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by first-year head coach Dusty May, played their home games at the FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Florida as members of Conference USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010–11 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2010–11 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by head coach Mike Jarvis, played their home games at FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Florida, as members of the Sun Belt Conference. The Owls were regular-season champions in the Sun Belt Conference, but were upset in their first game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament by North Texas.

The 2023–24 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by sixth-year head coach Dusty May, played their home games at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida as first-year members of the American Athletic Conference, their first season in the American. They finished the season 25–9, 14–4 in AAC play to finish in second place. They beat North Texas in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament before losing to Temple in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the East region. There they lost to Northwestern, ending their season.

References

  1. ↑ "Florida Atlantic University Visual Standards". May 4, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  2. ↑ "American Announces Entrance Agreements With Incoming Members for 2023-24 Season" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  3. ↑ Sentinel, Dieter Kurtenbach | Sun. "FAU basketball coach Mike Jarvis to resign at season's end". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  4. ↑ "Florida Atlantic's Mike Jarvis stepping down after season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  5. ↑ Sentinel, Dieter Kurtenbach | Sun. "FAU hires Michael Curry as men's basketball coach". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  6. 1 2 Richardson, Shandel. "Florida Atlantic fires men's basketball coach Michael Curry". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  7. ↑ "FAU hires Dusty May as its new men's basketball coach". Columbus Telegram . Retrieved 2018-03-22.
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