The Owls do it again! FAU, KT Harrell heading to Elite Eight after upset of Tennessee

The former Auburn guard is heading to the Elite Eight with FAU as a member of the Owls coaching staff.

Auburn basketball’s chance at a national championship may be over, but there is still one representative in the hunt.

[autotag]KT Harrell[/autotag], who played guard for the Tigers from 2013-15 and later served on Bruce Pearl’s staff at Auburn, is heading to the Elite Eight as a member of the Florida Atlantic coaching staff after the No. 9 seed Owls upset the No. 4 seed Tennessee Volunteers, 62-55, at Madison Square Garden in New York City in the East Region semi-final.

The Owls trailed Tennessee, 27-22 at halftime, but would go on to outscore the Volunteers, 40-38, in the second half to seal the upset. FAU had three players reach double-figures in points, led by Johnell Davis’ 15-point outing.

The Owls won the Conference USA tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament, and upset No. 8 seed Memphis in the first round, 66-65, then ended Farleigh Dickenson’s cinderella run by defeating the Knights, 78-70, to advance to the Sweet 16.

Florida Atlantic will now shift its focus to Kansas State, who defeated Michigan State, 98-90 in overtime on Thursday for a chance to advance to the Final Four. Tipoff between the Owls and Wildcats is set for 5:09 p.m. CT on TBS.

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Florida Atlantic, KT Harrell advance to Sweet 16

If you are needing a team to root for in the Sweet 16, may we suggest the FAU Owls?

Auburn’s run toward another Final Four berth was snapped on Saturday by the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars, but there is still one former Tiger that is keeping his NCAA championship dreams alive.

[autotag]KT Harrell[/autotag], who played guard for Auburn from 2013-15, is heading to the Sweet 16 as a member of Florida Atlantic’s coaching staff, serving as the director of basketball operations.

The No. 9 seed Owls defeated No. 16 seed and potential cinderella team Farleigh Dickenson on Sunday night, 78-70. The Owls advanced to the round of 32 by knocking off Memphis on Friday, 66-65. Florida Atlantic will now face No. 4 seed Tennessee in the East Region semi-finals this weekend in New York City.

Harrell is in his first season as the director of operations for Florida Atlantic after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant under Bruce Pearl at his alma mater. Harrell was on a staff that won an SEC regular season championship. His first season with FAU has been historic, as the Owls have built a 32-4 record and won the Conference USA tournament.

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Florida Atlantic wins Conference USA title with former Tiger on staff

KT Harrell, a former Auburn player and coach, is celebrating a conference title with his current program.

[autotag]KT Harrell[/autotag] was quite the force for Auburn during his two seasons on the Plains.

Following his playing career, Harrell spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at his alma mater under [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] and took over as the director of basketball operations at Florida Atlantic last summer.

He has had a wonderful first season in Boca Raton, as he is part of a staff that just led the Owls to the Conference USA regular season championship. On Saturday, FAU defeated Texas-El Paso, 75-49 to clinch a share of the conference championship with two games remaining in the regular season.

The win moved FAU to 26-3 overall, and 16-2 in C-USA play. The Owls’ lone losses in conference play have been to UAB and Middle Tennessee State. In non-conference play, FAU upset in-state rival Florida in November, 76-74 in Gainesville for their most impressive win of the season.

Harrell started in all 65 games that he played at Auburn from 2013-15, where he averaged 18.4 points per game and would post a free throw percentage of .839.

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