2023–24 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by sixth-year head coach Dusty May, played their home games at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida as a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), their first season in the American. They finished the season 25–9, 14–4 in AAC play, to finish in second place. They beat North Texas in the quarterfinals[1] of the AAC tournament before losing to Temple in the semifinals.[2] They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the East region. There they lost to Northwestern, ending their season.[3]

2023–24 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record25–9 (14–4 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Kyle Church
  • Todd Abernethy
  • Drew Williamson
Home arenaEleanor R. Baldwin Arena
Seasons
2023–24 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
South Florida 16 2   .889 25 8   .758
Florida Atlantic 14 4   .778 25 9   .735
Charlotte 13 5   .722 19 12   .613
UAB 12 6   .667 23 12   .657
Memphis 11 7   .611 22 10   .688
SMU 11 7   .611 20 13   .606
North Texas 10 8   .556 19 15   .559
East Carolina 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
Tulsa 7 11   .389 16 15   .516
Tulane 5 13   .278 14 17   .452
Temple 5 13   .278 16 20   .444
Wichita State 5 13   .278 15 19   .441
Rice 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
UTSA 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
2024 AAC tournament winner

On March 24, 2024, head coach Dusty May left the school to take the head coaching position at Michigan.[4] On March 27, the school named Baylor assistant John Jakus the team's new head coach.[5]

The season marked the team's first year as members of the American Athletic Conference after announcing FAU would join the conference in June 2022.[6]

Previous season

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The Owls finished the 2022–23 season 35–4, 18–2 in Conference USA (C-USA) play, to win the regular-season championship. They defeated Western Kentucky,[7] Middle Tennessee[8] and UAB[9] to win the C-USA tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the East region. They defeated Memphis in the first round which marked the school's first NCAA tournament win.[10] They then defeated Fairleigh Dickinson to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.[11] The Owls defeated Tennessee[12] and Kansas State[13] to advance to the school's first Final Four. This made FAU the first men's team since George Mason in 2006 to reach the Final Four in the same season that it earned its first NCAA tournament win.[14] In the Final Four, they lost to San Diego State.[15]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Michael Forrest 11 G 6' 1" 174 GS Senior Lauderhill, FL Graduated

2023 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Devin Vanterpool
SG
Middle Village, NY Christ the King High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Mar 12, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports: 
Jakel Powell
SG
Raleigh, NC Word of God Christian Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jun 8, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports: 
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 1, 2023.

Roster

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2023–24 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Brenen Lorient 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Forest HS Ocala, FL
G 1 Johnell Davis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Jr 21st Century Gary, IN
G 2 Nicholas Boyd 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So Don Bosco Prep Garnerville, NY
F 3 Giancarlo Rosado 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Jr Palm Beach Lakes West Palm Beach, FL
G 4 Bryan Greenlee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Sr The Rock School
Minnesota
Gainesville, FL
F 5 Isaiah Gaines 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Pensacola
Northwest MS CC
Pensacola, FL
G 11 Jakel Powell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Raleigh Christian Raleigh, NC
G 12 Jalen Gaffney 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Westtown School
UConn
Columbus, NJ
G 13 Jack Johnson (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Choate Rosemary White Plains, NY
G 15 Alijah Martin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr North Pike Summit, MS
G 21 Alejandro Ralat 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Jr Saint Andrew's School San Juan, Puerto Rico
G 22 Devin Vanterpool 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Christ the King Laurel, MD
G 23 Brandon Weatherspoon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Sr Canton
Holmes CC
Canton, MS
F 25 Tre Carroll 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 227 lb (103 kg) RS So Charlotte HS Punta Gorda, FL
F 30 Leo Beath (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Oak Park Malibu, CA
C 50 Vladislav Goldin 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Putnam Science Academy
Texas Tech
Nalchik, Russia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 5, 2023

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 8, 2023*
7:00 p.m., Barstool.tv
No. 10 vs. Loyola Chicago
Barstool Sports Invitational
W 75–62  1–0
 19  Goldin   10  Goldin   5  Greenlee  Wintrust Arena (2,169)
Chicago, IL
November 14, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 10 Eastern Michigan W 100–57  2–0
 19  Goldin   5  tied   7  Boyd  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
November 18, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 10 Bryant L 52–61  2–1
 17  Davis   12  Davis   2  Greenlee  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
November 23, 2023*
2:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 19 vs. Butler
ESPN Events Invitational quarterfinals
W 91–86  3–1
 19  Goldin   11  Goldin   3  tied  State Farm Field House (3,061)
Bay Lake, FL
November 24, 2023*
11:00 a.m., ESPN2
No. 19 vs. No. 12 Texas A&M
ESPN Events Invitational semifinals
W 96–89  4–1
 26  Davis   7  Martin   5  tied  State Farm Field House 
Bay Lake, FL
November 26, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 19 vs. Virginia Tech
ESPN Events Invitational championship game
W 84–50  5–1
 17  Martin   8  Martin   6  Gaffney  State Farm Field House (2,528)
Bay Lake, FL
November 30, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 13 Liberty
Field of 68 Tip-Off
W 83–58  6–1
 20  Martin   9  Rosado   3  Greenlee  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
December 2, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 13 Charleston
Field of 68 Tip-Off
W 90–74  7–1
 24  Davis   12  Goldin   4  Gaffney  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
December 5, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 11 vs. No. 20 Illinois
Jimmy V Classic
L 89–98  7–2
 23  Goldin   9  Davis   7  Gaffney  Madison Square Garden (17,873)
New York, NY
December 13, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 15 FIU W 94–60  8–2
 16  Davis   9  Goldin   6  Gaffney  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
December 16, 2023*
4:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 15 vs. St. Bonaventure
Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
W 64–54  9–2
 16  Davis   9  Davis   4  Davis  MassMutual Center (2,745)
Springfield, MA
December 23, 2023*
3:00 p.m., FOX
No. 14 vs. No. 4 Arizona
Desert Holiday Classic
W 96–95 2OT 10–2
 35  Davis   9  Davis   4  Gaffney  T-Mobile Arena (7,207)
Paradise, NV
December 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 7 at Florida Gulf Coast L 68–72  10–3
 21  Goldin   10  Martin   2  tied  Alico Arena (4,633)
Fort Myers, FL
AAC regular season
January 2, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 17 East Carolina W 79–64  11–3
(1–0)
 20  tied   11  Goldin   4  tied  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
January 6, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 17 at Charlotte L 68–70  11–4
(1–1)
 20  Davis   6  Goldin   2  tied  Dale F. Halton Arena (3,785)
Charlotte, NC
January 11, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 24 at Tulane W 85–84  12–4
(2–1)
 21  Boyd   11  Goldin   8  Davis  Devlin Fieldhouse (2,048)
New Orleans, LA
January 14, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 24 UAB W 86–73  13–4
(3–1)
 30  Davis   8  tied   5  Greenlee  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 23 Wichita State W 86–77  14–4
(4–1)
 22  Martin   9  Martin   6  Davis  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
January 21, 2024
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 23 at UTSA W 112–103 OT 15–4
(5–1)
 34  Davis   7  Davis   6  Boyd  Convocation Center (1,929)
San Antonio, TX
January 24, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 22 at Rice W 69–56  16–4
(6–1)
 18  Boyd   9  Davis   6  Greenlee  Tudor Fieldhouse (1,896)
Houston, TX
January 28, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 22 North Texas W 66–63  17–4
(7–1)
 28  Davis   8  tied   3  tied  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
February 3, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 20 Tulsa W 102–70  18–4
(8–1)
 24  Davis   9  Martin   4  Boyd  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
February 8, 2024
9:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 20 at UAB L 73–76 OT 18–5
(8–2)
 17  Davis   11  Davis   5  Davis  Bartow Arena (5,309)
Birmingham, AL
February 11, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 20 at Wichita State W 95–82 OT 19–5
(9–2)
 20  Goldin   9  Goldin   5  Goldin  Charles Koch Arena (6,513)
Wichita, KS
February 15, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 24 Temple W 80–68  20–5
(10–2)
 17  Davis   7  tied   6  Davis  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
February 18, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 24 at South Florida L 86–90  20–6
(10–3)
 23  Goldin   6  Davis   5  Davis  Yuengling Center (10,659)
Tampa, FL
February 22, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
SMU W 80–70  21–6
(11–3)
 21  Goldin   8  Gaffney   5  Davis  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
February 25, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN
at Memphis L 74–78  21–7
(11–4)
 22  Goldin   9  Martin   6  Weatherspoon  FedExForum (13,510)
Memphis, TN
March 2, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPNU
Tulane W 79–73  22–7
(12–4)
 21  Goldin   12  Goldin   5  Davis  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
March 6, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at North Texas W 80–76  23–7
(13–4)
 29  Davis   8  Martin   4  Davis  UNT Coliseum (4,551)
Denton, TX
March 9, 2024
12:00 p.m., CBS
Memphis W 92–84  24–7
(14–4)
 21  tied   12  Goldin   5  Davis  Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161)
Boca Raton, FL
AAC tournament
March 15, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
(2) vs. (7) North Texas
Quarterfinals
W 77–71  25–7
 21  Goldin   10  Goldin   2  tied  Dickies Arena 
Fort Worth, TX
March 15, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPNU
(2) vs. (11) Temple
Semifinals
L 73–74  25–8
 23      7  tied   2  tied  Dickies Arena (5,545)
Fort Worth, TX
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2024*
12:15 p.m., CBS
(8 E) vs. (9 E) Northwestern
First round
L 65–77 OT 25–9
 19  Goldin   9  Goldin   3  Greenlee  Barclays Center 
Brooklyn, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Source:[16]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP10101913111514717242322202024RVRVRVRVRV
Coaches91020179141261725RV242322RVRVRV


References

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  1. ^ Paul, Ben (March 15, 2024). "Owls Advance to the Semifinals". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Paul, Ben (March 16, 2024). "Owls Fall to Temple in AAC Semifinals". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Paul, Ben (March 22, 2024). "Owls Fall in Round of 64". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  4. ^ Cone, Allen (March 24, 2024). "Michigan announces hiring of Dusty May as basketball coach". WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  5. ^ Borzello, Jeff (March 28, 2024). "Baylor assistant Jakus takes over as FAU coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  6. ^ Burke, Peter (July 1, 2023). "Owls officially become members of American Athletic Conference". WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "Florida Atlantic Steamrolls WKU in C-USA Quarterfinals". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. March 9, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "Owls Win Thriller in Semifinals, Will Play for C-USA Championship Saturday". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. March 10, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  9. ^ "CHAMPS! Florida Atlantic Wins C-USA Championship, Punches Ticket to NCAA Tournament". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. March 11, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Florida Atlantic Captures First NCAA Tournament Win on Boyd's Game-Winner". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. March 17, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "Sweet Sixteen Bound! Florida Atlantic Tops FDU in Second Round of NCAA Tournament". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. March 19, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "Owls Top Tennessee, Advance to Elite Eight". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. March 23, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  13. ^ "Florida Atlantic is Final Four Bound!". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. March 25, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Lev, Jacob (March 25, 2023). "Florida Atlantic stuns Kansas State to advance to school's first Final Four". CNN. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  15. ^ Paul, Ben (April 1, 2023). "Florida Atlantic's Dream Season Ends on Buzzer Beater in Final Four". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  16. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Florida Atlantic University Athletics. Retrieved September 22, 2023.