Don’t use the “C” word — Cinderella — around Florida Atlantic. It may not have the brand of a national power or any previous success to lean on, but the ninth-seeded Owls don’t see themselves as some plucky underdog.
Not after winning a school-record 34 games and overwhelming No. 4 Tennessee, 62-55, to advance to the Elite Eight on Saturday at the Garden against third-seeded Kansas State.
“We don’t feel like we’re Cinderella,” Florida Atlantic guard Alijah Martin said. “We feel like we’re supposed to be here, doing exactly what we’re supposed to do.”
The Owls (34-3) may not feel like underdogs, but nobody could’ve reasonably predicted this season for them.
Florida Atlantic last won 20 games in a single season in 2010-11, when Mike Jarvis was its coach and the team was in the Sun Belt Conference.
Dusty May has turned around this floundering program, leading it to its first three NCAA Tournament wins in school history this March. After victories over No. 8 Memphis and No. 16 FDU, this was a major step in class.
The Owls were ready for it.
Johnell Davis scored 15 points and added six rebounds to lead the way and Nick Boyd had 12 and eight.
“Our guys, our staff, players, everyone in our program certainly feel like we belong here and a lot goes into that,” May said.
Florida Atlantic felt good about itself at halftime, despite being down by five.
It wasn’t playing very well and was right there with Tennessee (25-11).
Once the Owls hit their stride, in the form of a furious 18-2 run, they sprinted right past the Volunteers, and really didn’t have to sweat out the final minutes.
Tennessee never got closer than five, shooting a woeful 33.3 percent from the field overall and were surprisingly outrebounded by smaller Florida Atlantic, 40-36, and outscored in the paint by four.
After the win, the jubilant Owls went into the stands and celebrated with their fans.
Booming chants of “F-A-U, F-A-U,” could be heard during Florida Atlantic’s post-game press conference.
“I can’t count us out no more. We’re here to stay and we’re going to keep fighting no matter who we line up against, who we play,” Boyd said. “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.”