Tag: FAU Owls

No. 14 FAU trolled No. 4 Arizona with a perfect Festivus meme after 2OT comeback victory

Happy Festivus, from the FAU Owls

The No. 4 Arizona Wildcats will have plenty of grievances to air after Saturday’s loss to No. 14 FAU.

An NCAA tournament darling during its run to the Final Four last March, FAU proved it’s more than a one-hit wonder by pulling off a 96-95 double overtime victory in Las Vegas.

The Owls found themselves trailing by 14 points just seven minutes into the game, but Johnell Davis and Jalen Gaffney propelled FAU back into contention with 35 and 20 points, respectively. Seven lead changes and 11 ties later, Caleb Love missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Arizona the win and the Owls left the desert soaring.

They also took some time to celebrate Festivus — the annual holiday born from Seinfeld — on their way out of town.

As a general rule, it’s never good to be compared to George Costanza in any situation. Yet somehow that isn’t even the worst part of the Wildcats’ day. We’ll just assume playing a double overtime game counts as Feats of Strength.

Report: FAU QB Casey Thompson to miss rest of season with torn ACL

The FAU quarterback exited Saturday’s game against Clemson after the injury. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the specifics Monday.

Florida Atlantic quarterback Casey Thompson will miss the rest of the 2023 season after he tore his ACL during Saturday’s loss to Clemson, as ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported.

Thompson left the game early in the second quarter after he took a big hit in the pocket. He was helped off the field by trainers.

The senior quarterback started his career with the Texas Longhorns back when current FAU coach Tom Herman led the program. He spent 2019-2021 with Texas and started for Nebraska in 2022 before he reunited with Herman in Boca Raton this offseason.

This was Thompson’s sixth and final year of NCAA eligibility.

The Owls turned to junior Daniel Richardson after Thompson left. Richardson completed 18 of 32 passes for 120 yards and an interception to close the game. Richardson transferred from Central Michigan over the offseason, where he started for the last two years.

Contact/Follow us at the College Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of College Sports news, notes, and opinions.

AT THE BUZZER: Twitter Reacts to Lamont Butler’s game winning shot against FAU

In a matter of seconds, San Diego State’s Lamont Butler became a San Diego sports folkhero.

For most of the game, it looked like this was going to be a Twitter reaction to FAU continuing their tournament run to the national championship game. Up 14 in the second half, the Owls appeared to be cruising to victory.

San Diego State, one of the scrappiest teams in this year’s tournament had different plans.

After finding themselves down 56-42 with 13:53 remaining in the game, the Aztecs would begin to chip away at the Owls’ lead. By the ten-minute mark, the lead deficit would be down to just six points at 60-54.

FAU did not give up the lead easily, however, as they were able to keep it a multi-possession game for most of the final 10 minutes. However, the Owls who were able to shoot well for most of the second half would go into a funk over the last four minutes, making just one shot from the floor. Despite those struggles, the Owls would still lead heading into the game’s final seconds.

That’s when we’re welcomed to a moment in time, and a moment that will live forever in San Diego State and college basketball history.

After Johnell Davis missed a contested shot at the rim, San Diego State forward Nathan Mensah would grab the rebound and quickly get it to guard Lamont Butler.

Butler would rush down the court, looking for the perfect opportunity;

Three seconds left… He was at the baseline, with no good shot opportunity.

Two seconds left… he’s near the corner, no opportunity, he quickly moves a few feet to his left.

One second left… From 19 feet, he pulls up, the ball leaves his hand with 0.9 seconds remaining.

Zero seconds left… Swoosh, nothing but net. San Diego State wins 71-70.

Just like that, Lamont Butler became a San Diego sports folk hero and legend and just like that, San Diego State will now prepare to face either No. 4 UConn or No.5 Miami on Monday night in Houston.

The 10 players who will decide this year’s Final Four

These ten players will decide Saturday’s Final Four matchups.

The wait is over. The Final Four is finally upon as on Saturday evening the West Region’s No. 4 UConn Huskies will take on the Midwest Region’s No. 5 Miami Hurricanes while the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs out of the South Region will take on the No. 9 FAU Owls out of the East Region.

Below, we are going to take a look at ten players who will ultimately decide Saturday’s Final Four matchups. But before we delve into those players, let’s take a quick look at how each team got here.

No. 4 UConn Huskies (West Region):

The Huskies started their tournament off with an impressive 87-63 win over Richard Pitino and No. 13 Iona. In the Round of 32, they would knock off No. 5 Saint Mary’s (CA) 70-55 before taking down No. 8 Arkansas in blowout fashion 88-65. Prior to the blowout win for the Huskies, the Razorbacks had recently knocked off the region’s No. 1 seed and defending national champions, Kansas. After defeating Arkansas, the Huskies routed No. 3 Gonzaga in the Elite Eight 82-54. From the very start of this year’s tournament, the Huskies have been one of the most dominant teams.

No. 5 Miami Hurricanes (Midwest Region)

At one point in their tournament opener against No. 12 Drake, it seemed unlikely the Hurricanes would even make it out of the opening weekend, let alone get to the Final Four. How things can change in a short time. Since then, the Hurricanes would go on to beat No. 4 Indiana comfortably before defeating No. 1 Houston in the Sweet 16. In the Elite Eight, they would erase a double-digit deficit to come back and knock off No. 2 Texas 88-81.

The Hurricanes’ offensive has been nearly unstoppable all season, will UConn have enough to slow them down on Saturday?

No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs (South Region)

The Aztecs entered the tournament as a potential underdog that could make a deep run but very few expected a potential Final Four run out of Brian Dutcher’s program. The Aztecs started their tournament journey by knocking off a very tough No. 12 College of Charleston team 63-57. In the Round of 32, they would easily take care of No. 13 Furman, who was coming off an amazing last-second win over Virginia in the Round of 64. In the Sweet 16, No.1 Alabama found out just how good San Diego State is as the Aztecs smothered the Crimson Tide in a 71-64 win. Finally, in the Elite Eight, they would have another thriller with No. 6 Creighton 57-56.

No. 9 FAU Owls (East Region)

In a tournament that has been filled with Cinderella stories, FAU’s own Cinderella story is still going on. The Owls’ needed a last-second bucket to beat No. 8 Memphis in the opening round and then would beat No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson in the Round of 32. After having two games against quality but not elite opponents, FAU would have to rise to the challenge in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. In the Sweet 16, they would beat No.4 Tennessee 62-55 before winning 79-76 against a very scrappy and tough No. 3 Kansas State team in the Elite Eight.

Now without, further adieu here are the ten players who will decide Saturday’s Final Four matchups.

CBB Roundup: Recapping a busy last 24 hours in college basketball

It’s been a busy last 24 hours in college basketball, here’s what you may have missed.

It’s been an incredibly busy last 24 hours in college athletics and especially college basketball. While coaching searches and hires have grabbed the headlines. After a busy Wednesday that saw nearly a double-digit amount of head coaching jobs be fulfilled, Thursday was filled with press conferences, assistant coaching hires, and more.

Because of all that, quite a few notable pieces of news have gone under the radar. From transfer portal additions, to potential NBA rule changes, and awards. There’s been a lot that has happened over the last day – here’s just a select few updates.

The first storyline that flied under the radar is that FAU head coach Dusty May isn’t planning on leaving Boca Raton anytime soon. The former Indiana assistant according to Matt Noralnder of CBS Sports, is expected to sign a long-term contract with FAU that would keep him in Boca Raton for the foreseeable future.

In his fifth season with the Owls, May has led the program to a 35-3 overall record including an 18-2 record in Conference-USA play. The Owls entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed in the East Region and have made a Cinderella run to the Final Four defeating Memphis, Farleigh Dickinson, Tennessee, and Kansas State in the process. During the last few weeks multiple schools have shown interest in May but with the Owls deep run have eventually ended up looking elsewhere.

 

THE SLIPPER STILL FITS: No. 9 FAU takes down No. 3 Kansas State to move onto Final Four

Twitter reacts to FAU’s Cinderella run continuing with a win over the Kansas State Wildcats.

The clock has not yet hit midnight for the East Region’s No. 9 seeded. FAU Owls. On Saturday night, the Conference USA champions knocked off the No. 3 seeded Kansas State Wildcats 79-76 in the Elite Eight to advance to the program’s first Final Four.

The Owls are the third-ever No. 9 seed to make the Final Four joining 2013 Wichita State and 1979 Pennsylvania. Neither time would end up making the National Championship Game.

After finding themselves down 57-50 with 12 minutes to play in the second half, FAU would go on a 17-7 run over the next eight minutes to flip the game in their favor and take a 67-63 lead over the Wildcats.

However, one of the biggest reasons for the Owls’ win over the Wildcats was their domination on the board,s outrebounding the Wildcats 44-22 including nabbing 14 offensive rebounds resulting in 15-second chance points.

FAU forward Vladislav Goldin led that charge for the Owls with 13 total rebounds, he also had 14 points in the game. Gurad Alijah Martin also had a strong night with 17 points including hitting three-of-seven shots from beyond the arc.

The Owls now in the Final Four will await the winner of Sunday’s matchup between the No. 6 seeded Creighton Blue Jays and No. 5 seeded San Diego State Aztecs.

Major takeaways from No. 6 Florida’s midweek wins over FAU

The Gators finally took both games of a midweek series and will head into the weekend with a chance to put together the first five-game win streak of the season.

The No. 6 Florida Gators finally won both of their midweek games this week with victories over the Florida Atlantic Owls.

On Tuesday, UF outscored FAU, 18-11, in a game that was extended by a 41-minute rain delay. [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] lead the night with three hits, including two home runs and nine RBIs, and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] also had a three-hit night. [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Shelnut[/autotag] both hit home runs as well.

Although it wasn’t a great outing for freshman [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]., Florida scored more than enough runs to take the game in convincing fashion. [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag], [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag], [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] all got work in relief.

The pitching staff was much sharper on Wednesday. Starter [autotag]Tyler Nesbitt[/autotag] and left-hander [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] combined for an eight-inning, two-hit shutout. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] was the star on offense, collecting four hits on the day, including a walk-off grand slam that put the 10-run rule into effect.

Wednesday was the dominant win Florida has been looking for all year and finally leaves the team heading into the weekend on the right foot.

Siena might be Florida’s most favorable series of the season, and the Gatrors look like they are finally firing on all cylinders.

Penn State adds FAU punter from transfer portal

Penn State adds a punter from the transfer portal

Penn State is expecting a big week with the opening of the early signing period on the college football recruiting calendar, but the Nittany Lions added to the program with an addition from the transfer portal on Saturday. Punter [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag] announced on his Twitter account on Saturday he has committed to Penn State and will join the program in 2023.

The Australian native kicker will have one final year of eligibility left to use at Penn State despite being listed as a freshman on FAU’s roster in the 2022 season. That is because his eligibility actually started in Australia before moving to FAU.

Thompson will be a top candidate to handle Penn State’s punting duties in 2023 after losing [autotag]Barney Amor[/autotag], who proved to be a reliable asset following [autotag]Jordan Stout[/autotag]. Penn State has one of the top punters in the Class of 2022 with [autotag]Alex Bacchetta[/autotag] to look forward to as well, but Thompson is coming off a solid season at FAU.

Thompson had the 10th-best punting average this season with an average of 45.75 yards per punt according to CFBstats.com.

The early signing period officially opens on Wednesday, December 21 and closes on Friday, December 23.

Penn State will face Pac-12 champion Utah in the Rose Bowl on January 2, 2023.

[listicle id=11403]

[lawrence-related id=27626,27593,27586,27584,27566]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Follow Kevin McGuire on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Manny Diaz misses out on FAU coaching vacancy

Penn State was close to having to find a new defensive coordinator.

Florida Atlantic fired head coach Willie Taggart just five days ago and they have already found his replacement. In a process that involved Penn State defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], FAU announced that they have hired former Houston and Texas coach Tom Herman.

Diaz in his first year as Penn State’s defensive coordinator coached a scrappy defense that included five players making All-Big Ten teams. He furthered the development of both [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] specifically.

Diaz did all this after a short stint as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes where he had a record of 21-15 in three season. Much like Herman at Texas, Diaz struggled to bring his hometown team back from the shambles they had played in recently.

Despite all that he still was a finalist for the FAU job.

While Diaz missed out on the FAU job it shows that he does have the urge to be a head coach once again and that the [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] coaching tree may be expanding once again. Despite that job being gone Diaz does have another chance to return to the sunshine state, perhaps before winter sets in at State College, with the USF job still open.

While he isn’t officially reported to be interviewed or even interested, it seems no school or team may be off the board for Diaz. Especially a return to his home state.

[mm-video type=video id=01gk7p602js3pvgav7cf playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gk7p602js3pvgav7cf/01gk7p602js3pvgav7cf-2f942ea40549798fc2ca6aeb48565bdc.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=26851,26835,26833,26820,26715]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Florida basketball suffers first loss of Golden era against FAU

It had to happen at some point, but few expected Florida’s first loss of the Todd Golden era to come against FAU.

The Florida Gators fell to the Florida Atlantic Owls, 76-74, on Monday, which marks the first loss of the [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] era at UF.

FAU dominated from beyond the arc all game but they were especially hot in the first half. Florida had few answers for the Owls’ shooters and it cost them the game in the long run.

[autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] once again scored 30 points (and posted his first double-double of the year with 12 rebounds), but the Gators’ offense was weak any time anyone had the ball. In fact, it seemed like there were very few plays in tonight’s playbook that ended with anyone other than Castleton shooting the ball. The Gators have tons of work to do on both offense and defense if tonight is indicative of the team’s true skill.

True, Florida is coming off a pair of wins, but Stony Brook hardly put up a fight and the signs were there against Kennesaw State. In truth, it’s unsurprising to see Florida stumble this early in the season against a non-conference opponent, and it will be interesting to see how the team responds following its first loss of the season.

Here are five thoughts from Florida’s ugly loss to FAU on Monday night.