INTO THE OWLS NEST: An in-depth look at Tennessee's S16 opponent

By: Jordan Moore

Junior Staff Writer

The All Vol Call In Show

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Graphic | John Dunn

The Florida Atlantic University Owls, coached by fifth-year head coach Dusty May, will appear in their first-ever Sweet 16 game on Thursday when they take on the Tennessee Volunteers, inside the historic Madison Square Garden. Who are these scrappy underdogs from Boca Raton?

Opponent Profile:

Head Coach: Dusty May (5th season)

Record: 33-3 (2022-2023 Conference USA Regular Season & Tournament Champions)

Conference Record: 18-2

Net Ranking: 13th

Home Record: 15-0

Road Record: 11-3

Neutral Record: 3-0

Quad 1: 2-1

Quad 2: 4-2

Quad 3: 11-0

Quad 4: 12-0

Last 10 Games: 9-1 (9 in a row)

KenPom Adjusted Efficiency: 22nd

KenPom Offensive Efficiency: 29th

KenPom Defensive Efficiency: 34th

KenPom Adjusted Tempo: 143rd

Adjusted Shot Quality: 51st

Adjusted Offensive Shot Quality: 45th

Adjusted Defensive Shot Quality: 64th

Rim/3 Rate: 11th (88%)

Starting 5:

PG: Bryan Greenlee (6’0”, 191lbs)

SG: Nick Boyd (6’3”, 185lbs)

SF: Alijah Martin (6’2”, 210lbs)

PF: Johnell Davis (6’4” 203lbs)

C: Vladislav Goldin (7’1”, 240lbs)

Bench:

Jalen Gaffney (6’3”, 185lbs)

Michael Forrest (6’1”, 174lbs)

Brandon Weatherspoon (6’4”, 186lbs)

Giancarlo Rosado (6’8”, 247lbs)

Go To Player(s)

Johnell Davis (13.9 PPG, 5.4 REB, 1.6 APG)

38.8% from three on 116 attempts

Alijah Martin (13.1 PPG, 5.3 REB, 1.5 APG)

36.5% from three on 178 attempts

Solid Contributors:

Vladislav Goldin (10.4 PPG, 6.4 REB, 1.2 BPG)

Michael Forrest (8.4 PPG, 2.4 REB, 1.7 APG)

33.8% from three on 151 attempts

Role Players:

Bryan Greenlee (7.2 PPG, 2.5 REB, 2.2 APG)

38.9% from three on 126 attempts

Nick Boyd (8.9 PPG, 4.1 REB, 2.6 APG)

39.9% from three on 61 attempts

Giancarlo Rosado (5.9 PPG, 3.6 REB, 1.4 APG)

This season marks FAU’s fifth-ever postseason appearance (2 NCAAT, 1 NIT, 1 CIT, 1 CBI)

FAU picked up its first-ever NCAAT win in the 1st round against Memphis

At one point in the regular season, the Owls were on a 20-game winning streak.

FAU has played 6 games against teams inside the KenPom top 50 (UAB 3x, North Texas 2x & Memphis). FAU is 5-1 in those games.

The Owls played only 3 “high major” teams in the regular- season: @ Ole Miss (L, 80-67), @ Florida (W, 76-74), Memphis (W, 66-65)

37.3% of the FAU’s points scored on the season have come from behind the arc, which ranks 25th in the nation

Seven FAU players have 100+ attempts from three, all seven of them are 33% or better from deep.

Florida Atlantic has attempted less than half the amount of mid-range jump shots this season than Tennessee: 130-to-279.

FAU is one of the worst teams in the county at getting to the free-throw line, and when they do, they fail to convert, only connecting on 71.5% of their attempts, good for 200th in the country

Despite their lack of height, the Owls are top-100 in both offensive & defensive rebounding.

Florida Atlantic has an effective field goal percentage of 54.4%, good for 25th in the country.

FAU is one of the shorter teams in the country at 76.0” with only three players taller than six-foot-eight, That is good for 329th in the country.

Coach Mays utilizes a four Guard, one Big lineup exclusively.

Coach Mays and FAU also utilize a deep bench, with nine players that have played in 30+ games & average 15+ MPG

Hot Zone Chart:

Shot Chart | cbbanalytics.com

Shot Chart | cbbanalytics.com