Gene Frenette: FAU Owls run to Final Four should inspire programs like JU, UNF
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Florida Atlantic’s unlikely ride to the Final Four — joining the likes of Loyola-Chicago, VCU, Wichita State, Butler and George Mason, which reached the same destination in the past two decades — has the full attention of mid-major coaches all over the country.
If the Owls, who had never won an NCAA Tournament game and made only one March Madness appearance before this season, can get there, it surely gives hope to other programs outside the Power 5 leagues that they can maybe pull off the same feat.
The path traveled by FAU hasn’t gone unnoticed in Duval County, where the strong connections both Jacksonville University coach Jordan Mincy and North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll have to Owls colleague Dusty May provides encouragement for them to dream big.
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“I think it’s a huge inspiration,” said Mincy, who just completed his second season with the Dolphins. “When you see that kind of success [at a mid-major program], it gives you hope.
“As long as you believe in your guys and get time with them, and take the right transfer portal guys, that recipe can help you be successful.”
Mincy’s relationship with May dates back to the 2014-15 season when they were on Mike White’s staff together at Louisiana Tech, then moved with him to Florida for the next three years.
Not only do the pair stay in touch on a fairly regular basis, but the first team Mincy scrimmaged after accepting the JU job was May’s Owls down at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce prior to the 2021-22 season.
FAU’s roster at that time was pretty much the same one taking on San Diego State on Saturday at the Final Four in Houston. The Owls have a deep roster, led by 6-foot-4 guard Johnell Davis, who leads the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) despite starting just 15 of 38 games. FAU averages 17.0 points from its bench in the NCAA Tournament, where six different players have hit double figures.
“I’m surprised they got to the Final Four,” said Mincy. “They don’t have a superstar, but what they’re great at is they basically have two starting fives. Dusty [May] has had multiple guys go off. When you have depth, you’re dangerous.”
Keeping nucleus together
Driscoll and his players don’t need any introductions to FAU, which beat the Ospreys 79-77 in Jacksonville on Dec. 17, 2020, then got routed by the Owls 76-41 in Boca Raton the following season.
In both games, the Ospreys were either without top scorer Carter Hendricksen or he was severely limited due to back spasms. UNF made 15 of 33 shots from three-point range in the two-point loss.
At that time, FAU was still in the process of building its Conference USA championship team. The Owls were much stronger the second time around as 7-foot-1 Russian Vladislav Goldin had transferred in from Texas Tech, giving May’s team a formidable inside presence who is far more impactful this season.
“The crux of FAU’s guys have been there from the outset,” Driscoll said. “I just think all those stars aligned for them and Dusty can really coach. This just reinforces that what teams like Loyola-Chicago and VCU did [getting to the Final Four] wasn’t a fluke, even though they played differently than FAU.”
Since May left Florida in 2018 to take over the Owls, there was minimal indication FAU could explode into the national spotlight. Its combined league record in May’s first four seasons was 34-32 and the only postseason appearance came last year, a first-round loss to Northern Colorado in the CBI.
But with a sophomore-heavy class returning intact, including Davis, Goldin, Alijah Martin, Nicholas Boyd and Giancarlo Rasado, everything came together for the Owls (35-3) this season. Starting with a 76-74 win at Florida in mid-November, they went on a 20-game winning streak and finished the season at No. 25 in the AP poll.
In the NCAA Tournament, FAU has survived by playing superbly in clutch moments. The Owls got through a 66-65 thriller in the opening game against Memphis, winning on a Boyd driving bucket in the lane with 2.5 seconds remaining.
May’s team has trailed by 7, 5, 6 and 6 points midway through the second half of every NCAA game, but went on immediate scoring runs to take control down the stretch. Nobody has scored more than 17 points, the lone exception being Davis pouring in 29 against 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the second round.
The toughest challenge came against Kansas State, a 79-76 victory in the Elite Eight. The Owls overcame a monster outing by Wildcats guard Markquis Nowell (30 points) at Madison Square Garden by going on a 15-1 run, with Michael Forrest sealing the outcome on four free throws in the final 18 seconds.
“It’s awesome what they’ve done, all those guys staying together,” said Driscoll. “When you look at the totality of it, you look at the structure of the team, the majority of guys have been together for two or three years.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with David beating Goliath. It’s got everything to do with the way FAU is built. It’ll be interesting to see if coaches can build that kind of foundation, keep it and do what FAU has done.”
Limited success for ASUN teams
While it’s not impossible for JU, UNF or any team from the ASUN Conference to duplicate the Owls’ Final Four run, there’s no question it would require an extraordinary set of circumstances to get that deep into the postseason.
The ASUN has been a one-bid league since it was rebranded from the Trans-America Conference in 2002. Only Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 — its “Dunk City” team reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Florida — has made any kind of splash in the NCAA Tournament. The league’s overall NCAA record is 5-21.
While FAU’s program has traditionally looked no better than an average ASUN team, the Owls took a quantum leap forward this season. A lot of mid-major programs have made runs to the Elite Eight (No. 15 seed St. Peter’s last year, No. 10 seed Davidson with Steph Curry in 2008) and many others reach the Sweet 16, but getting to the Final Four is significantly more difficult.
Mincy, intimately familiar with the inner workings of the FAU program, says it’s an even greater accomplishment when you consider its financial hurdles. FAU plays its games at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena, commonly known as The Burrow, with a capacity of just 2,900.
“What Dusty [May] is doing is incredible because he has less resources than we do [at JU],” said Mincy. “If you look at his operating budget, it’s the same as most schools in the ASUN and FAU doesn’t have a practice facility. He’s a year out from going to the American Athletic Conference and they’re still playing buy games [road games for guaranteed money].
“You look at where they play their games, it’s like a high school gym, an updated Swisher [Gym, JU home facility]. FAU’s resources are very limited, so what he’s doing is super impressive.”
With the Owls moving to the AAC next season — along with C-USA members Charlotte, UAB, North Texas, Rice and UTSA — there's no telling how that changes the landscape for FAU to make another NCAA run. But except for fifth-year senior Forrest, all of May’s players have eligibility remaining.
Is it possible for FAU to do what Butler did in 2010-11 and make back-to-back Final Four appearances?
“It’ll be interesting to see if FAU can replicate building a team in today’s climate with the NIL and transfer portal,” Driscoll said. “They’ve got an older, experienced team that’s together. They hit the mother lode. They build momentum through the year and started to win, win, win.
“This team’s nucleus has been in the same locker room and been through 8-10 conference seasons together. But there’s always different kryptonite that gets teams in one-and-done tournament scenarios. Keeping what FAU has going isn’t easy to do.”
UNF has only been to the NCAA tournament one time, losing a First Four game to Robert Morris 81-77 in 2015 as a No. 16 seed. JU last went to the Big Dance in 1986 as a No. 8 seed, falling in the first round to Temple, 61-50, in overtime.
History, along with being in the ASUN, suggests the odds will be long for either the Ospreys or Dolphins to go deep into March Madness like FAU.
But the Owls were never anything special before this season. Now they provide hope for JU, UNF and every mid-major chasing their one shining moment.
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: FAU reaching Final Four an inspiring run for mid-major programs JU, UNF
