Tag: Florida Atlantic Owls

Braxton Miller’s son has received his first scholarship offer

He’s not even in middle school yet! #GoBucks

There is no debate, Braxton Miller is one of the greatest pure athletes to ever lace ’em up for The Ohio State University. Who knows what his legacy would’ve been had he not got injured before the start of the 2014 season?

Now the question is — will Miller’s ultra-athletic genes be passed on to his children? One Division I head coach is banking on it. Former Ohio State offensive coordinator and current Florida Atlantic head coach, Tom Herman, has offered Miller’s son Landon a scholarship who is, get this … entering sixth grade!

It’s not the first time we’ve seen players get offers before they even get to high school, but it’s somewhat unheard of for a kid just out of elementary school. Of course, Herman has a history with Miller as he was on Ohio State’s staff for the final three years of Miller’s OSU career. Maybe he’s just throwing a former player a bone, or maybe he’s taking a gamble that if Landon is half as talented as his dad, he’s going to be pretty good.

Clearly, there is a lot of time left before anything would come to fruition. Landon Miller won’t graduate from high school until 2031 assuming he doesn’t reclassify. So many things can happen between now and then and my guess is, he’ll get many more looks and offers when the time is right.

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Florida baseball outlast FAU in scoring frenzy Tuesday night

It was a slugfest in Gainesville on Tuesday night as Florida prevailed over FAU.

Florida baseball hosted the Florida Atlantic Owls on Tuesday night inside of Condron Family Ballpark, which ended up being an offensive explosion for both teams. Fortunately for the Gators, they escaped with a 10-8 victory despite a ninth-inning rally from the visitors.

Cade Fisher got the starting nod and once again struggled in the role, surrendering a pair of earned runs in the first and lasting only 1 1/3 innings total before giving way to the bullpen. Four relievers helped keep the team in the game with Jameson Fisher earning the win after throwing the final 1 2/3 frames.

Cade Kurland (1-for-4) and Ty Evans (2-for-4) homered in the victory, with Kurland driving in two and Evans notching a team-high three RBI. Freshman Hayden Yost started his third-straight game and continues to impress, reaching base four times while going 2-for-3 with a double and game-high three runs scored; Brody Donay (2-for-3) chipped in two RBI and one double.

Next up are the Tennessee Volunteers, who arrive in Gainesville on Thursday to kick off an early three-game weekend series between the two Southeastern Conference schools. Game 1’s first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on May 2 and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Gators baseball takes down FAU Owls in midweek clash

Florida had to battle a bit more than its used to during the midweek, but the Gators came out on top Tuesday night against the FAU Owls.

Florida and FAU traded runs all night, but the Gators emerged victorious Tuesday over the Owls, 10-8.

Four Gators put together multi-hit games, including right fielder Ty Evans who drove in a team-high three runs. Second baseman Cade Kurland also homered, his ninth of the year.

Florida had FAU’s arms figured out, walking seven times to five strikeouts on the nights.

Ryan Slater earned the win in relief of Cade Fisher, who went 1 1/3 innings in his start. It wasn’t a banner night for the pitching staff, as walks and hits came in bunches for FAU.

Frank Menendez, Jake Clemente and Fisher Jameson each three 1 2/3 innings. Clemente was the only one to deny the Owls a run; although, one of the two runs that scored off Menendez was unearned.

Freshman outfielder Hayden Yost reached base safely four times, scoring three of the Gators 10 runs. Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said that Yost would be getting plenty of opportunities down the stretch, and games like tonight help explain that decision.

Florida is back at home on Thursday to open a three-game series with the Tennessee Volunteers. First pitch is at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2.

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Could Florida Atlantic’s latest hire make them ‘the next Gonzaga?’

Can former Baylor and Gonzaga assistant John Jakus keep Florida Atlantic among the premier mid-major programs in college basketball?

In March of 1999 the Gonzaga Bulldogs went on a magical run to the Elite Eight as an 11-seed, punctuated by a game winner over Florida which led to the iconic Gus Johnson call: ‘the slipper still fits!’

The next year head coach Dan Monson departed for a job in the Big Ten at Minnesota, and an unknown assistant coach named Mark Few took over the program – and the rest is history.

While the story doesn’t quite line up perfectly, there are a lot of similarities to what is currently happening in Boca Raton with the Owls of Florida Atlantic.

FAU went on a miracle run in the NCAA Tournament in 2023, going all the way to the Final Four under coach Dusty May as a nine seed. One year later, he too departed for greener pastures in the Big Ten – taking the head coaching job at Michigan. He will be replaced by John Jakus, a relatively unknown assistant coach who has a background at Baylor and – you guessed it – Gonzaga.

Will Jakus turn around and lead FAU to 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and cement himself as a future Hall of Fame coach? It’s unlikely, simply because of the extreme rarity that is Few and Gonzaga’s story.

However, a program coming off a great two year run, in an improved basketball conference, with an invigorated fanbase, hiring a coach who developed under Few and Scott Drew, and who has professional coaching experience in Europe, is certainly one that is trending in the right direction.

Many programs have at times been given the label of ‘the next Gonzaga’ and none have kept it long term – mostly because their coach departed for a bigger job before the program was able to grab a strong enough foothold to succeed without them.

Loyola Chicago lost Drew Valentine, VCU lost Shaka Smart, George Mason lost Jim Larranaga, Florida Gulf Coast lost Andy Enfield, Oral Roberts lost Paul Mills, the list goes on and on – and in the transfer portal era the ability to retain talent at the mid-major level is harder than ever.

Jakus is a phenomenal basketball mind, and both the Gonzaga and Baylor coaching trees are rife with successful names – like Tommy Lloyd, Jerome Tang, Grant McCasland, Leon Rice, and Mills – but the journey to being Gonzaga in Florida will require Jakus not only to stick around long term, but to continue to fight through college basketball rule changes which heavily favor the Power-6 programs.

Perhaps it’s unfair to toss the Gonzaga label around before Jakus has even coached his first game, but FAU has the infrastructure and current momentum to keep it going in the post-May era, and they are a team well worth keeping on the radar going forward.

Former Ohio State football player promoted at Florida Atlantic

Former Ohio State football player promoted at Florida Atlantic #GoBucks

Michael Cibene is a former walk-on for Ohio State football from 2013 through 2016, where he was a reserve defensive back. He has been coaching since leaving Ohio State and was a graduate assistant at Grand Valley State from 2017 through 2018.

Cibene then returned to Ohio State as a defensive assistant from 2019 through 2020 and assisted with the linebacker group consisting of Baron Browning, Malik Harrison and Peter Werner. After working with the Buckeyes as a coach, Cibene moved on to Boston College where he coached in 2021 and 2022 as a graduate assistant and assisted on the defensive line and on special teams primarily.

Cibene was then hired to the Florida Atlantic staff as a defensive analyst in 2023 and was officially promoted to a positional coach role for the edge rushers on January 2nd of this year. Former Ohio State offensive coordinator, Tom Herman. is the head coach at Florida Atlantic and it will be fun to cheer on the Owls who have a few Buckeyes on staff this fall.

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What is Lane Kiffin’s all-time record in bowl games?

Curious how Lane Kiffin has done in bowl games? Here is his all-time coaching record in the bowl season.

We previously took a look at James Franklin’s all-time head coaching record in bowl games. Franklin owns a winning record in bowl games, including last season’s victory in the Rose Bowl. Franklin also owns victories in the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl, which means he could join some elite coaching company with victories in four different New Years Six bowl games. Penn State is also looking to become the first school in college football history to record a win in each of the New Years Six bowl games.

But what about the coach Franklin will be going up against in this year’s Peach Bowl, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin?

Kiffin has had quite an interesting career as a college coach with a rough experience with Tennessee, some highs and lows with USC, a nice redemption arc at Florida Atlantic, and now with the Ole Miss Rebels. But Kiffin’s experience in bowl games hasn’t been the most glowing aspect of his career. More often than not, Kiffin’s teams have been disappointing in the postseason. Will this year be any different?

Here is a look at each of Lane Kiffin’s bowl games as a head coach.

2023 ESPN Events Invitational: Full college basketball tournament schedule and results

Here is your updated schedule for the ESPN Events Invitational with updated matchups beginning today.

Penn State men’s basketball will ramp up the level of difficulty in non-conference play by participating in this year’s ESPN Events Invitational in Florida. The Nittany Lions are one of eight programs participating in this year’s event over the Thanksgiving weekend, and they will help get things started in the first game with a rematch with Texas A&M on Thursday afternoon.

Penn State bounced the Aggies in the first round of last season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, but a lot has happened with Penn State’s program since that meeting. Penn State went through a coaching change and a good amount of roster turnover as well. The Aggies continued to build and will arrive in Florida with a top-15 ranking in the basketball polls. A bit of revenge will be on the mind for Texas A&M in the first game of this week’s ESPN Events Invitational.

Penn State could also match up with one of last season’s Final Four teams, FAU, or the former program coached by Mike Rhoades, VCU. This could make for a fun weekend for Penn State.

Penn State is making its second appearance in the ESPN Events Invitational, but the last trip did not go well. Penn State went 0-3 in the 2007 tournament with losses to South Carolina, Rider, and UCF. That year’s tournament was won by NC State with a one-point victory over Villanova. The last Big Ten team to win the tournament was Maryland in 2019. It is the only year a Big Ten school has won the tournament. The Big Ten has been represented in 13 of the 16 events.

Here is a full schedule of this year’s ESPN Events Invitational, with TV and stream information and approximate starting times for each game. This tracker will be updated with final scores, photos, and updated matchups as the tournament unfolds, so be sure to bookmark this post for future reference.

With win over Texas A&M, Florida Atlantic proved they are for real

The Owls of Florida Atlantic dropped 90+ points on both Butler and Texas A&M to prove they are not just a fluke but a legit Top 25 team this college basketball season.

Every once in a while, an unheralded mid-major program goes on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, capturing the hearts of fans everywhere and etching their name into college basketball lore.

Most of the time, however, these programs fade back into relative obscurity within a year or two. Some programs find success for at least another year, like Wichita State’s magical season in 2013-14 following their run to the Final 4 as a nine seed in 2013, but for every story like that there is a Loyola-Chicago, George Mason, or Florida Gulf Coast.

For that reason, fans are often skeptical when a team that went on a deep run is highly regarded the next season in the polls, like Florida Atlantic – who came into the 2023-24 season as the No. 10 ranked team after last year’s run to the Final 4.

Skeptics were rewarded after FAU’s third game, a loss to Bryant where they only managed 52 points, but the Owls have since responded by hanging 91 points on Butler – another NCAA Tournament darling who parlayed their success into a spot in the vaunted Big East Conference – and then scoring 96 on No. 12 ranked Texas A&M on Friday to advance to the ESPN Events Invitational Championship on Sunday, where they will play the winner of Virginia Tech and Iowa State.

The Owls are now in the American Athletic Conference alongside Memphis – their first-round opponent in last year’s NCAA Tournament – and they look primed to have another wildly successful year, potentially bucking the trend of mid-major teams flaming out after Cinderella runs in the big dance.

No team has managed to fully become ‘the next Gonzaga’, who parlayed an Elite 8 run in 1999 into 24 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but FAU looks more than capable of staying in the limelight at least for 2023-24 and could keep the momentum going for years to come.

Where Penn State’s opponents rank in new USA TODAY Men’s College Basketball Top 25

See where Penn State basketball’s opponents landed on the new USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll this week.

Penn State men’s basketball is off to a 2-0 start to the season but it is going to take more than a couple of home wins to start grabbing the attention of the poll voters this season. Penn State did not receive any votes in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, which is not surprising. But a number of Penn State’s Big Ten and non-conference opponents did pick up some votes this week.

Penn State will likely get its first crack at a top 25 teams next week over the Thanksgiving weekend. And, if things go extremely well, the Nittany Lions could even come home from a holiday weekend tournament with a pair of wins over top 25 teams. But that may be a bit of a reach.

Here is a look at where Penn State’s opponents land in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Men’s College Basketball coaches poll. You can view the entire poll here.

College Wire Predictions: Who will emerge from the Final Four on Saturday?

Our network editors make their picks for the Final Four.

We could be on the verge of history in the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament this coming Monday. Four teams remain in the hunt to be crowned a national champion, three of which have never taken home the trophy. UConn, on the flip side, has won four national championships.

No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs vs No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

In the early matchup on Saturday, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic will achieve school history by making it to the title game. This is FAU’s second NCAA tournament in school history, they had their first win in March Madness weeks ago when they knocked off Memphis. The Aztecs finally put the Mountain West on the board after going winless in the tournament since Nev.

Who will emerge victorious?

Editor Site Pick
Patrick Conn College Sports Wire San Diego State
Cami Griffin Longhorns Wire San Diego State
Phil Harrison Buckeyes Wire San Diego State
Taylor Jones Auburn Wire Florida Atlantic
AJ Spurr Roll Tide Wire San Diego State
Kevin McGuire Nittany Lions Wire San Diego State
E. Wayne Razorbacks Wire San Diego State
Tyler Nettuno LSU Wire San Diego State

No. 4 Connecticut Huskies vs No. 5 Miami Hurricanes

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

UConn hasn’t played in the Final Four since 2014, the last time they won a national title. Right now, nobody is as hot as the Huskies. They have won every game by double digits. In the Elite Eight, they knocked off a battle-tested Gonzaga team 82-54. Miami has had to make comebacks in the last several games, including falling behind to the Longhorns by 13 in the second half.

Who will win this fight between Power Six programs?

Editor Pick
Patrick UConn
Cami UConn
Phil Miami
Taylor UConn
AJ Miami
Kevin UConn
E. Wayne UConn
Tyler UConn

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