Florida Atlantic aims to shoot its way past hard-nosed Tennessee
After ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic secured its first trip to the Sweet 16, the final question asked of coach Dusty May concerned how he’d approach the upcoming matchup against Tennessee.
“We’re going to study Australian rugby rules and get ready for the Vols,” May smirked.
It was a light jab at fourth-seeded Tennessee’s physical brand of basketball, which attracted some scrutiny during the second round of the NCAA Tournament because of one player’s foul trouble.
Tennessee and its aggressive defense will take on three-pointfiring FAU in a clash of styles Thursday (airing at 9 p.m. on TBS) in the East Region semifinals.
The Volunteers (2510) own the third-best scoring defense in Division I at 57.8 ppg allowed. They forced 15 turnovers in their 65-52 win over fifth-seeded Duke in the second round.
But 7-footer Uros Plavsic picked up two fouls in the first 2:12 of the game, his first coming when he elbowed Kyle Filipowski to the ground after securing a defensive rebound. Filipowski caught another Plavsic elbow — inadvertent — later in the game, drawing blood and a wound below his eye.
Plavsic, who averages 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, finished with four fouls and no points in 15 minutes.
“Obviously didn’t like the way it started with Uros, I didn’t like any part of that. He gets too emotional about it,”
Vols coach Rick Barnes said later.
“We want to play within the rules in terms of — as physical as we want to be, we don’t want to foul.”
But Barnes will not apologize for his team’s identity.
“We’re a tough, hardnosed team. That’s how we play everybody,” he said. “But knowing that
[Duke] had a lot of freshmen, we knew that if we come in and apply more pressure and be tough and physical, then they would have to deal with it.”
While Tennessee is making its sixth Sweet 16 appearance since 2007 and second under Barnes, FAU (33-3) has won tournament games for the first time in just its second trip to the Big Dance.
The Owls won the C-USA title before surviving a dramatic first weekend in Columbus, Ohio. After upending Memphis 66-65 on Nicholas Boyd’s layup with two seconds left, they faced Fairleigh Dickinson, the second No. 16 seed to ever beat a No. 1.
FAU trailed 49-44 with 12 minutes left before pushing ahead.
While FDU’s storybook run ended, FAU is one of the few Cinderellas remaining, given its mid-major status and No. 9 seed. Except May and his players don’t see it that way.
“We never felt like we were a Cinderella story because of our record, because of the players in that locker room,” May said.
The Owls rank 32nd in Division I in scoring (78.4 ppg), 18th in threepoint attempts per game (26.4) and top-50 in three-point percentage (36.7). Six players have shot more than 100 three-pointers this season; Johnell Davis, Boyd and Bryan Greenlee
all shoot at least 38 percent from the arc.
Davis (13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds), Alijah Martin (13.1 points, 5.3 rebounds) and Vladislav Goldin (10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds) carry FAU’s offense.
UCLA, GONZAGA RESUME RIVALRY
Thursday is the 17year anniversary of when UCLA put on a dazzling game-ending 11-0 run for an improbable 73-71 victory in the Sweet 16 that left Gonzaga star Adam Morrison face-first on the court, crying in distress and defeat.
The Bulldogs returned the heartbreak less than two years ago when
Jalen Suggs drained a buzzer-beater from just inside halfcourt in overtime to give the Bulldogs a miraculous 93-90 victory over the Bruins in the Final Four.
More electrifying drama could be in store Thursday (9:45 p.m., CBS) when the secondseeded Bruins (31-5) and third-seeded Bulldogs (30-5) meet in the Sweet 16 in West Region play in Las Vegas.
Gonzaga has won 11 consecutive games and is in the Sweet 16 for the eighth straight NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs beat Grand Canyon and TCU in their first two March Madness games.
“You’ve got to put it all on the line,” Gonzaga star Drew Timme said. “You can’t save yourself for the next round because
there could be no next round. It’s pedal to the metal every time.”
UCLA has recorded 14 wins in 15 games and is part of the Sweet 16 for the third straight time and sixth in the past 10 NCAA Tournaments. The Bruins defeated UNC Asheville and Northwestern.
“We just try to teach guys how to play winning basketball,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said. “You got to be able to play situational, winning basketball because situations change. You got to play smart.”
Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and point guard Tyger Campbell were starters on the UCLA team that lost to the Bulldogs in the Final Four. The duo has a 9-2 record in NCAA Tournament games.
Jaquez is in the lead role this season by averaging 20.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two victories. He also is in disbelief that he moved into 12th place on UCLA’s all-time scoring list with 1,773 points, passing legendary Bill Walton (1,767).
“Just to be in a conversation with a guy that’s so great like that, I mean, I’m just blessed,” Jaquez said of Walton. “I’m just blessed to be in this position, blessed to play under such a great coach, blessed to go to this institution.”
The winner faces either fourth-seeded UConn or eighth-seeded Arkansas in Saturday’s West Region final.