The principle factor too many school basketball followers have been wanting to mock within the Related Press Prime 25 preseason ballot was FAU’s school-record No. 10 rating.
Man, individuals hated that rating.
The haters swore FAU did not deserve that rating. They swore FAU was nothing greater than a mid-major that made a fortunate run to the 2023 Remaining 4. They swore the Owls would show unworthy of the quantity subsequent to their identify simply as quickly because the season obtained began.
Then got here the loss to Bryant.
That was clearly unhealthy.
However since in some way dropping to Bryant as a 23.5-point favourite within the third sport of the season, the Owls have gone 8-1 with the newest spectacular efficiency being Saturday’s thrilling 96-95 double-overtime victory over an Arizona workforce that was ranked No. 1 within the AP ballot simply six days in the past. It was arguably the sport of the 12 months, one dominated by Johnell Davis, the American Athletic Convention Preseason Co-Participant of the 12 months who completed with 35 factors in 49 minutes.
“It felt like a high-level basketball sport,” stated FAU coach Dusty Might. “This felt like a February sport with the convention championship on the road.”
FAU is now 10-2 on the season with 5 wins over top-65 groups at KenPom.com. Once more, the Bryant loss is horrific. No getting round that. However the one different loss on the resume is a single-digit loss on a impartial court docket to an Illinois workforce that is No. 5 in Sunday morning’s up to date CBS Sports activities Prime 25 And 1 each day school basketball rankings, and that is among the many causes FAU is as much as No. 7 within the Prime 25 And 1, one spot forward of the Arizona workforce the Owls simply beat in Las Vegas whereas capturing precisely 50% from the sector.
“We advised our guys these are the kind of groups you are going to play when you make a deep match run,” stated Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd. “[FAU is] an unimaginable workforce.”
That incontrovertible fact that so many rejected that opinion within the preseason — that FAU is certainly an unimaginable workforce — by no means made a lot sense to me, if solely as a result of it was so clearly true. Opposite to what the lazies urged, FAU was not only a workforce that made a fortunate run to the 2023 Remaining 4. Relatively, FAU was a workforce that was 31-3 earlier than the NCAA Match even began. Then, certain, the Owls have been lucky to get previous Memphis within the first spherical, however nothing that occurred after that was “fortunate.” FAU beat Fairleigh Dickinson and Tennessee comfortably, then obtained previous a Kansas State workforce that had beforehand crushed Texas, Kansas, Baylor, TCU, Kentucky and Michigan State.
Merely put, you do not win your league by a number of video games, win your league match, advance to the Remaining 4 and end 35-4 with wins over a top-four workforce within the SEC (Tennessee), a top-four workforce within the Massive 12 (Kansas State), and a top-two workforce within the AAC (Memphis) by being fortunate. You may solely do all of that if you happen to’re very, superb. And when it was confirmed that FAU would return all 5 starters from the workforce that did all of these very, superb issues, nothing aside from the Owls being within the high 10 of the preseason polls would’ve made any sense to me.
Now, the skeptics are beginning to settle down.
They’re lastly starting to point out respect.
Higher late than by no means, I suppose.
Prime 25 And 1 rankings
Greatest Movers
3
Florida Atlantic
4
Arizona