Dusty May shares what stands out about Tennessee
Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May knows there’s a challenge ahead of his team with Tennessee in the Sweet 16.
The Volunteers are a very physical team. But it seems like May and his crew are up to task to battle through it and make the Elite Eight.
May shared what stood out about Tennessee ahead of their matchup.
“How well they keep the ball out of the paint and close to shooters with their size, length,” May said. “But most importantly, it’s their intensity and their physicality. They play every single possession like it’s their last.”
A win for Florida Atlantic would be considered an upset. Since the Owls are a No. 9 seed, it might as well be a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight.
May was asked if the team embraced it or took offense to that moniker. He shared an interesting response.
“Neither,” May said. “We’ll embrace it, whatever they want to call it. We’re very, very confident in our abilities and those guys in the locker room. We’ve never thought of ourselves in that regard just because of the success of our league and our guys being able to do what they did over a 20-game schedule. But we’ll take it. Whatever gets the people cheering for us, we’re open.”
In a follow up, May was asked about Florida Atlantic’s conditions compared to Power Five schools when it came to money, tradition and facilities, among other things.
“Well, I think a lot of our guys — in today’s climate, a lot of places are getting more of a finished product, where a lot of our guys came in with a chip on their shoulder, they had the talent,” May said. “But what’s separated them is their work ethic and their drive to be successful.
“And probably being a little bit under recruited, it contributes to that. But it’s just a really special group where they like each other, they compete against each other like it’s life and death, and then they’re in the locker room hanging out for several hours. So it’s a really unique blend of personalities and characters, but the one commonality is they’re a very competitive and hardworking group. I guess that’s two commonalities.”
Florida Atlantic takes on Tennessee Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET in the Sweet 16.