Florida Atlantic basketball storms back in second half vs. Tennessee to reach Elite Eight. Here are 3 takeaways

NEW YORK — The Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team isn't ready to leave New York City just yet.

The Owls pulled off the biggest NCAA Tournament upset in program history on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, defeating the No. 4-seeded Tennessee Volunteers 62-55 in the Sweet 16. The ninth-seeded Owls will return to the national stage on Saturday to face the No. 3 seed Kansas State Wildcats in the Elite Eight with a place in the Final Four on the line. Tipoff at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. and will be televised on TBS.

Head coach Dusty May said his team, after falling behind early on Thursday, found its usual standard, allowing the Owls to eventually rally from a halftime deficit.

“After the first seven minutes or so, we felt like we really settled in and played good basketball. Despite the score at the half, we felt like we were playing our type of game,” May said. “We got back to moving the ball. We were playing with great physicality.

"We did an unbelievable job on the glass in the first half despite our size, and once again, it's a testament to how hard these guys play and their drive and determination.”

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May and the squad have said time and again that there isn’t a stage too big or too bright for this team.

It wasn’t just coachspeak or cliché. On Thursday, they outperformed an SEC team in Madison Square Garden, the mecca of sports venues.

Here are takeaways from the Sweet 16 win:

Owls struggle in first half vs. Vols

There were times during the early part of the game when FAU looked outmatched against a Tennessee team that boasts its physicality and size.

One of May’s keys to victory was protecting the basketball, which the Owls didn't do after committing nine turnovers in the first half.

Redshirt freshman Nick Boyd said the Volunteers’ approach in the first half defensively affected their ability to play to their standards.

“They're long. They're big and physical. I threw a couple passes in the beginning of the game that got deflected. Usually in our league those are lay-ups, so we had to adjust,” Boyd said. “And I give them credit, they push up into you, they're physical, and they make you uncomfortable.”

Tennessee wasn’t an offensive juggernaut in the first 20 minutes as the Vols shot 31% from the floor. FAU had a ton of opportunities to come back and spark a run, but the 3-point attempts weren’t falling as they shot 21% from deep.

Even with a frustrating first half, the Owls were down only five points at halftime.

FAU has second-half resurgence

The Owls worked their way back in the second half after senior Michael Forrest scored eight straight points off the bench to give momentum to his team. Forrest was held scoreless in the past two tournament games and had not hit a 3-pointer since the Owls' regular-season finale on March 4.

Forrest, FAU's all-time leader in 3-pointers, said that he couldn’t have done it without his teammates.

“Oh, man, I don't even know how to explain it, just my teammates set me up perfectly just so I could make the open shots,” Forrest said. “I've been having a rough time lately, but my teammates kept the positivity with me, so I owe it all to them.”

The shots inspired a game-changing 20-4 run that would give the Owls a 10-point lead, the largest by any team.

Sophomore standout Johnell Davis continued his stellar performance as seen against Fairleigh Dickinson with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds.

Even when Tennessee wasn’t letting the game get away, FAU was hitting the 3-point shot at a 38% clip in the second half.

May credited the second-half performance in part to how much better FAU passed the ball.

“Well, we stressed a few things just to open up some gaps in space so our drivers could get downhill, and then we just passed it much better," May said. "The first probably several months of the season, we really passed it, and then some teams adjusted where they were staying at home on our shooters.

“We just talked about when we pass it, now we have to shot-fake, drive, and just continue to get guys open shots and off-balance because they are bigger and stronger at each position. So we just need more space to create, and then our guys banged in some shots.”

Florida Atlantic Elite Eight-bound for first time in school history

For the first time in the program’s history, FAU has made it to the Elite Eight.

Boyd said that it “sounds just right.”

“We're where we're supposed to be. We're going to keep moving, keep working," Boyd said. "We're going to stay humble and hungry. We're here to stay and we're going to keep fighting no matter who we line up against.

“I've got a group of brothers that play together and I feel like there's nobody in the country that loves each other like we do and works like we do, so we're going to keep making statements.”

The buzz in the locker room after the game was contagious as the team was looking forward to causing some more noise in the national tournament.

Junior Bryan Greenlee (six points, three assists) said that no travel plans were changed.

“We did not plan on leaving tonight at all,” Greenlee said. “I would have been sick if we would have lost. We just wanted it more.

Besides the success of the players and the coaching staff, the performance of the Owls in the tournament has given a lot of recognition to the university. May said that continuous success is nothing but beneficial to FAU.

“It's awesome for our university, our athletic department, and our community, and we are extremely proud to represent them,” May said. "Our guys have done it with professionalism all year, so it's awesome for everyone, especially as we've put a lot of time — these guys have put a lot of work, elbow grease into building a program. And so for it to be to this point, it's very rewarding, but we'll focus on all that later after the season.”

The victory also marks May’s 100th career win as FAU's head coach. He'll celebrate even more if he can notch three more this season.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Atlantic basketball storms back in second half vs. Tennessee