Dusty May reacts to Florida Atlantic upsetting Tennessee to reach Elite Eight
Florida Atlantic pulled off the upset over Tennessee to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
The Owls took down the Volunteers 62-55 in a controlling victory and head coach Dusty May was not surprised. For a team that did not make the NCAA Tournament since 2002, it’s been quite a ride for the Owls.
Now, Florida Atlantic takes on Kansas State in the Elite Eight Saturday.
“Well, it feels great to go to battle with these guys every day,” May said on the TBS broadcast. “They love to compete, they love the game and they love each other.”
Johnell Davis led the way for May’s crew. He had 15 points, six rebounds and one assist. Nicholas Boyd added 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Florida Atlantic had a 27-22 halftime deficit but stormed back and limited Tennessee’s offensive potential in the final 20 minutes.
It’s been quite the run for May and Florida Atlantic. The team had yet to make the NCAA Tournament during his tenure, which began in 2018.
The Owls also never won 20 games under May. With potentially three more to go in this historic season, Florida Atlantic is 34-3 this year.
Perhaps May and Florida Atlantic were built for March Madness, it just took a few years to build something special.
Prior to the game, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes was very complimentary of Florida Atlantic’s run.
“Well, they certainly catch your attention early in the year when they went to Florida and won at Florida, something we didn’t do,” Barnes said. “Any program, team that wins 33 games, I don’t care what league you’re in, because it’s hard. All jobs are hard and difficult jobs, but for them to go through that, the first word that would come to my mind is consistency, because to do that day in and day out, knowing that they became the team that everybody was wanting to beat and gear up for.
“And you look at their team, they’re smart, they know each other well, great concepts on the offensive end, very sound defensively, and they should be a very highly confident team, because again, you win 33 games, it speaks volumes. No doubt all that they’ve done, they’ve earned it.”