Florida Atlantic makes first Elite Eight as it bounces Tennessee

Florida Atlantic, playing in just its second NCAA Tournament, moved within a victory of the Final Four by using a second-half push led by Michael Forrest to beat fourth-seeded Tennessee 62-55 on Thursday night.

The ninth-seeded Owls (34-3) will play thirdseeded Kansas State in the East Region final at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Even before the tournament started, this was the unquestionably the greatest season in FAU history. Now the Owls are one of the biggest stories in all of sports.

Johnell Davis led the Owls with 15 points and Forrest finished with 11, eight in a crucial secondhalf run where FAU took control.

The Volunteers (25-11), who were looking for just the second Elite Eight appearance in program history, shot just 33% — including 6 of 23 from 3-point range. Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo scored 10 points apiece.

The game was slogging along at Tennessee's style and pace until the Owls started hitting the 3-pointers they had been missing for much of the first 30 minutes.

Forrest made consecutive 3s to put FAU up 4139 with 9:49 left, the Owls' first leads since the opening minute.

Forrest capped a personal 8-0 run with driving layup that put the Owls up by four.

Meanwhile, Tennessee couldn't buy a bucket. The Vols went six minutes during which they scored four points.

Brandon Weatherspoon's putback off a bad 3-point miss off the side of the backboard made it 5141 with 6:47 left.

The Vols had one more push left. James swished a 3 with 3:33 left to cut the Owls' lead to 55-50.