Extraordinary: Five key factors in FAU basketball's best season in program history
FAU men's basketball has been nothing short of extraordinary in its journey to a first-round NCAA Tournament game against Memphis on Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.
Including the regular season and the Conference USA tourney, FAU has won 31 games. The previous high was 21 wins in the 2010-11 season in the Sun Belt.
Adding to their resume, the Owls won their first C-USA championship and were ranked nationally for the first time in the program’s history. The highest they were listed by the AP Poll was No. 19.
Going 19-15 in one year to over 30 wins the next is a significant jump. How did head coach Dusty May and his staff accomplish this?
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Here are five reasons why FAU has been successful this season:
1. Experience with youth
That might sound like an oxymoron. However, when it comes to the seasons that May and the team have under their belts, it’s worked in favor of FAU.
The Owls have only one senior on the roster, Michael Forrest, but when looking at the class of the eight- or nine-man rotation, most are sophomores or juniors.
Such key players as Alijah Martin, Johnell Davis, Vladislav Goldin and Giancarlo Rosado are all sophomores, they’re not even at their peak. The playing time they had during the season proved to work wonders.
May and staff also have done an exceptional job in recruiting players who weren’t raw prospects and came in ready to play. Because of that, this season shouldn’t be an anomaly for FAU.
2. Vlad Goldin’s renaissance
When it comes to Goldin’s performance this season, the statistics aren’t the be-all and end-all of his abilities.
While averaging 10.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game is solid, the presence he brings defensively adds a whole new layer to FAU. With his 41 blocks this season, opponents are rightfully hesitant to challenge him at the rim.
May has been praising Goldin all season and has said that teams have been trying to get him into foul trouble to throw off the rotation.
“If Vlad stays out of foul trouble, we've proven to have one of the best defenses in the country. When he's in foul trouble, we're out of our rotation and we take a little bit of a drop-off,” May said. “I don't want to make it seem too simple, but a lot of times, it is that simple. He’s 7-foot-1 and he's got great instincts and he's improving daily.”
He’ll prove to be an asset for the remainder of his college basketball career at FAU.
3. Scheduling
The schedule for FAU ended up being a great thing for the Owls, but also might’ve hurt them in terms of seeding when it comes to March Madness.
It might be a rare sight to see a 30-plus win team with a nine seed, but the overall level of competition in their schedule is a factor. Even though FAU will move to the AAC next season, Conference USA isn’t on the level of such conferences as the SEC and ACC.
FAU was 2-1 in Quad 1 games, and 4-2 in Quad 2, but the Owls were 23-0 in Quad 3 and 4. So most of the wins carry less weight since they weren’t against “quality teams.”
However, the team can’t change who they face, and they handled business as they were No. 10 in the country in margin of victory.
4. Dynamic Duo: Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis
While the game plan has been a recipe for success, players like Martin (13.2 points per game) and Davis (13.5 points per game), the team’s top two scorers, can take over if the game goes awry.
It was fairly easy to see that Martin would be a great two-way player during his freshman season last year. He stood out with his elite athleticism and his ability to score anywhere.
For people who followed the team closely, Davis was an underrated player. Coming off the bench, Davis brought a spark to the team offensively and defensively that led to much more playing time this season.
It worked out for both players as each proved to be two of the best in Conference USA. Both received first-team all-conference nods and Martin had a stellar performance in the conference title game, scoring 30 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Davis also contributed with 18 points and four steals.
5. Depth
Depth has separated FAU from the competition this season. A starting lineup and bench don’t have that much meaning for the Owls as May has eight to nine players that fill in his regular rotation.
Besides the top players, May heavily uses Nick Boyd, Bryan Greenlee, Brandon Weatherspoon and the aforementioned senior, Michael Forrest.
May said that the depth of the team separates them from a lot of other teams.
“Even against UAB, I felt like early on, we were bringing out a couple of the guys a little quicker than we normally do and it got to a point where UAB looked tired,” May said. “We just challenge our guys to go as hard as they can for two or three minutes then we’ll take them out. I felt like we had 36 minutes of great energy and enthusiasm which is a sign of being fresh.”
No. 9 seed FAU looks to make noise in the NCAA Tournament as their first-round game is against the No. 8 Memphis Tigers on Friday at 9:20 p.m. (EST).
Friday's gameEast Region, Columbus, OhioNo. 9 FAU vs. No. 8 Memphis TigersTV: 9:20 p.m., TNT
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU basketball: 5 reasons for the Owls best season in program history
