Tag: fau basketball

Fox Sports broadcaster accidentally called Florida Atlantic’s Giancarlo Rosado ‘Rosario Dawson’

Rosario Dawson?!?!

During Saturday’s marquee college basketball matchup between No. 4 Arizona and No. 14 Florida Atlantic, Fox Sports broadcaster Casey Jacobsen had a very funny snafu while trying to refer to Owls forward Giancarlo Rosado.

While discussing something happening in the game, Jacobsen referred to Rosado as “Rosario Dawson,” the veteran film and television actress currently playing Ahsoka in the Star Wars universe.

Their names really aren’t that similar, but they’re just close enough to where you could see how Jacobsen’s hysterical flub could happen.

The viewers at home probably did a double take once they heard Dawson’s name referenced in the broadcast out of nowhere.

This was a very honest mistake for a game broadcaster to make, as Jacobsen’s words got caught up just enough for this unexpected mention.

While we’re not sure if Dawson and Rosado know who each other are, they might become very aware after this very fun college hoops blooper.

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San Diego State’s Lamont Butler hit an absolutely stunning Final Four buzzer-beater

LAMONT BUTLER. SAN DIEGO STATE. ONIONS.

San Diego State junior guard Lamont Butler willed his team to the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament championship game with one of the best buzzer-beaters you’re likely to see this year.

As the seconds ticked down to zero, Butler got off the hero shot with his team down by a point to Florida Atlantic in the first Final Four game of the day.

The ball went right through the hoop as the buzzer sounded, helping cement the comeback victory for San Diego State.

SDSU players, coaches and fans immediately went wild as their team notched the game-winning basket in Houston, giving college basketball fans similar shades of the Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater that gave Villanova a national title in 2016.

That is exactly what March Madness is all about. Butler’s terrific bucket will be talked about by San Diego State fans for decades to come.

The team will move on to Monday’s championship game between the winner of Miami and Connecticut.

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ESPNā€™s Rece Davis had a hilariously awkward interview with Carrot Top about Florida Atlantic in the Final Four

Did you know Carrot Top went to Florida Atlantic? Well, you will now!

If you’re wondering exactly how prop comedian Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson found his way onto ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, you’re not alone.

Ahead of a show in Las Vegas, Carrot Top joined College GameDay host Rece Davis to discuss the comedian’s status as a proud Florida Atlantic alumnus.

Indeed, Carrot Top is cheering on his Owls as they prepare for Saturday’s 2023 men’s NCAA tournament Final Four battle with San Diego State for a spot in Monday’s national title game.

However, the interview went a bit off the rails without anyone really trying for it to, with some sort of transmission delay clashing with Carrot Top’s endearingly awkward energy and Davis’ laser-focused broadcaster persona.

Carrot Top does get one really good joke in, saying his alma mater was sarcastically called “Find Another University” while he was there.

Davis asked how Carrot Top was going to watch Saturday’s big FAU game since the comedian was set to perform in Vegas, and the latter’s solution was going to be to record the game, if you were curious.

If you’re going to have a perfectly pleasant interview with a celebrity that also ramp up the cringe levels past infinity, you could do a lot worse than Davis does here.

Kudos to Carrot Top for cheering on his old college, and kudos to them both for finding a way through this hilariously awkward encounter.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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UConn’s Jordan Hawkins and the 6 best NBA draft prospects playing in the Final Four

UConn’s Jordan Hawkins is a ready-to-play movement shooter perfect for the NBA.

This is a fascinating Final Four in the NCAA men’s tournament, especially because we may only have one first-round draft pick playing in either game.

Between the two matchups, UConn vs. Miami is the game to watch if you want to see likely future NBA players. Even if there aren’t many players selected in the first round, there are several who could find their way onto your favorite pro team.

Before the two games have their tipoffs in Houston on Saturday, these are the top NBA draft prospects you should keep your eyes peeled for whenever they are on the court.

NOTE: UConn’s Donovan Clingan would also make this list if he decides to declare for the 2023 NBA Draft.

The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know.Ā Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter,Ā hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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FAU coach Dusty May almost quit his job hours after he took the gig

May apparently experienced immediate regret after taking the job when he saw the state of the Owls’ facilities.

Dusty May is on top of the world right now.

This past weekend, the fifth-year FAU men’s basketball coach led his team to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament’s Final Four with an incredible run as a No. 9 seed. No matter what happens next weekend in Houston, he will likely be returning to Boca Raton with a hefty pay raise (barring a surprising power conference opening, for which he would surely be a primary candidate).

The Owls are just two wins from reaching college basketball’s mountaintop, but when May took the job back in 2018, he had instant regret and nearly quit hours into the job while the ink on his contract still wasn’t dry, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

“I walk in the room and I started crying and said, ‘I just committed career suicide. I’m not good enough. I can’t do this,'” May told CBS Sports.

May ā€” who was an assistant under then-Florida coach Mike White ā€” apparently had such a good meeting with FAU athletic director Brian White (who had been hired less than a week prior) that he took the job hours after arriving in Boca.

He hadn’t even seen the facilities, including the arena, which seated just 2,500. After he did, he was so overcome with buyer’s remorse that he burst into tears in his hotel room.

Of course, a move that May thought would be disastrous for his career prospects ultimately proved to be the exact opposite. His team sits at 35-3 in what has been a storybook season for an FAU team that is now on the cusp of winning a national championship and will face San Diego State for the right to play for one Saturday.

With the Owls set to join the American Athletic Conference next season, which is in turn set to lose current powerhouse Houston, it may only be the beginning of what May can accomplish in Boca Raton.

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Men’s NCAA tournament history repeats with two mid-majors, UConn set for Final Four in Houston

Two mid-majors playing in the Final Four in Houston. UConn also competing for a title. Is this 2023 or 2011??

One of the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament Final Four matchups is set in stone, and it’s the round’s first battle of non-major conferences since 2011.

No. 9 Florida Atlantic and No. 5 San Diego State are now set to square off in the Final Four of this year’s tournament. They’ll join Butler and VCU as the only other two mid-major teams to ever battle in March Madness’ last weekend.

Funny enough, that Butler/VCU matchup in 2011 was in Houston, Texas, and the winner of that game went on to face Connecticut.

Twelve years later, we’ve got a Final Four in Houston with two mid-major teams squaring off on one side of the bracket and Connecticut playing on the other side.

History might fully repeat itself in the most fascinating way if UConn wins the whole thing. It already is repeating itself with a few key parts.

We’ll see who else will join FAU, SDSU and UConn in the 2023 Final Four once we know the outcome of Texas/Miami.

UConn played Kentucky in its 2011 Final Four game, and the Huskies will get to play a Power Five team in Texas or Miami.

History really does repeat itself.

Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell had one of the best men’s NCAA tournaments ever

Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell had one of the best men’s NCAA tournament runs ever.

Even though Kansas State couldn’t quite get past Florida Atlantic in the Elite Eight, Wildcats senior guard Markquis Nowell had one of the best men’s NCAA tournaments of any player ever.

After Nowell’s historic Sweet 16 performance against Michigan State, he continued that stellar play in the Elite Eight.

It was special to watch him bank an incredible 3-pointer while falling on a hobbled ankle Ā or see him execute that stunning sequence where people thought he pulled off a fake argument with coach Jerome Tang to set up a basket.

Nowell actually finished his 2023 men’s NCAA tournament as the only player in men’s college basketball history to record 80-plus points, 50-plus assists and 10-plus steals.

You can see how he tallied up all these points, assists and steals in four games below.

Nowell also joined some fantastic company with his tournament performance.

Nowell showed his appreciation for all the support his team had garnered during their impressive men’s NCAA tournament run.

His brother, Marcus Nowell, talked about why he was so proud of his sibling after his incredible March Madness run.

Nowell’s basketball future is uncertain, but it feels like he’ll get a chance at some level to prove himself at the professional level. After this stunning tournament run, he deserves it.

Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang showed serious class by encouraging FAU after his teamā€™s loss

Now this was a classy move by Kansas State coach Jerome Tang.

Kansas State men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang didn’t let an Elite Eight loss to Florida Atlantic keep him from showing some real class.

After the Wildcats fell to the Owls on Saturday, 79-76, Tang visited the FAU locker room and offered words of encouragement for the Owls as they celebrated their first Final Four appearance.

“Nobody can beat y’all,” a supportive Tang told FAU after Saturday night’s game. “Just stay together. Don’t get distracted between now and then, alright? Stay locked in. Keep doing what you’re doing. Y’all the toughest son of a guns we’ve played all year long.”

That’s just the epitome of classiness.

Tang has been one of the best stories during the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament, and his Kansas State came awful close to punching a ticket to this year’s Final Four.

Most coaches don’t go to congratulate the opposing locker room and offer them support as they advance in the tournament, but that’s exactly what Tang did.

You just hope he’ll be back next year because March Madness just won’t be the same without him if he’s not.

FAU trolled Kansas State by playing the Wildcats’ pregame playlist during Elite Eight locker room celebration

Florida Atlantic got some incredible trolling in on Kansas State after its Elite Eight win.

The Florida Atlantic Owls didn’t let beating Kansas State in the Elite Eight keep them from getting a little trolling in after the game.

After FAU topped Kansas State for a spot in the Final Four, 79-76, a video showed the team dancing and clapping along to rap artist Lil Baby in the locker room.

It was a way to poke fun at Kansas State’s pregame tradition of getting hyped by clapping along to Lil Baby’s song “Low Down.”Ā In today’s social media age, it’s impossible for traditions like that not to go viral.

It’s also hard to avoid some playful trolling when you’re playing a team with that tradition, which is what FAU capitalized on after Saturday’s win.

FAU will now prepare to compete as only the third No. 9 seed in men’s NCAA tournament history to make the Final Four.

Can the Owls continue to shock the world during this March Madness? Time will certainly tell.

How many No. 9 seeds have reached the men’s NCAA tournament Final Four?

How many No. 9 seeds have made the Final Four of the men’s NCAA tournament?

No. 9 Florida Atlantic accomplished a rare feat on Saturday night after the team defeated No. 3 Kansas State, 79-76, in the Elite Eight.

The Owls punched their ticket for the Final Four, becoming just the third No. 9 seed to make the prestigious final stage of the men’s NCAA tournament.

The other two teams are Wichita State, who made the Final Four in the 2013 tournament, and Pennsylvania, who made the Final Four in the 1979 tournament, per PrintYourBrackets.

It’s an incredible statistic for the Owls to join, even though some would argue that the team should’ve been seeded higher after a 30-plus win season.

The NCAA started seeding its men’s tournaments in 1979, which was the year No. 9 Penn reached the Final Four.

However, no No. 9 seed has won its first Final Four game and competed for a national title.

If FAU can keep playing like it has, the team could really continue to make men’s NCAA tournament history.