Florida Atlantic basketball

Tennessee basketball is chasing the second Elite Eight appearance in program history when it faces Florida Atlantic on Thursday.

6:57 left: Tennessee 21, FAU 14. 11:12 left: Vols 17, FAU 10. UT happy to get the ball to Plavsic and Nkamhoua on the low block. 8:43 left: FAU in the bonus. Vols defense has forced 9 FAU turnovers. 2:42 left: FAU's Nick Boyd hits a 3, only the third made 3-pointer for the Owls in the half. Vols are cleaning up on the low block and off the offensive glass, but they'll need more in the second half to win. That's a good rate from the Vols perspective despite a lot of open misses by FAU. Remember the Kentucky loss in Knoxville, when the Wildcats allowed Plavsic to work on the low block while selling out to defend the perimeter? Owls are 5-9 from 3 in the second half. The Vols reached the Sweet 16 with a 65-52 win against No. During the timeout, Uros Plavsic called for a flagrant 1.

INSTANT TAKEAWAYS: No. 9 Florida Atlantic caught fire in the second half to eliminate No. 4 Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

"And then some guys were in arguably one of the biggest games of their lives, and you could just — body language, we just didn’t feel like they were locked in as much as we needed them to be. Tennessee played a big role in Florida Atlantic's struggles in the first half by forcing nine Owl turnovers, but it couldn't take advantage. Florida Atlantic got it going offensively in the second half after struggling on that end of the floor over the first 20 minutes of the game. "We had some breakdowns with certain players today that we just felt like they weren’t locked in as much as they needed to be," Barnes said. Again, tonight Florida Atlantic, they won, they played hard, and they deserve to move on." The Vols' season comes to an end after advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the ninth time in program history.

SportsLine's model revealed its college basketball picks for Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16 round of March Madness 2023.

Tennessee is in the top five nationally in field goal percentage allowed (37.2%), with the Volunteers also excelling in havoc creation. FAU](https://www.sportsline.com/college-basketball/game-forecast/NCAAB_20230323_FAU@TENN/) and revealed its coveted picks and predictions for the NCAA Tournament 2023. You can [head to SportsLine to see the picks](https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/2023-ncaa-tournament-florida-atlantic-vs-tennessee-game-line-odds-proven-college-basketball-expert-releases-pick-for-sweet-16-matchup/#ttag=03202023_agg_cbssports_picks_basketball_ncaa_model_TennesseeFAUCBB). SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 138 points. 2 in the country in assist percentage allowed (34.1%), and opponents average only 8.0 assists per game against the Owls. Here are several [college basketball odds](https://www.sportsline.com/college-basketball/odds) and trends for FAU vs. [Tennessee Volunteers](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/TENN/tennessee-volunteers/) take on the No. Vescovi produced 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win, with Nkamhoua erupting for 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting. 9 seed [Florida Atlantic Owls](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/FAU/florida-atlantic-owls/) in a Sweet 16 tilt on Thursday. FAU is led by its offense, but the Owls are also in a strong position on defense in this matchup. FAU allows only 94.8 points per 100 possessions, and the Owls are holding opponents to 40.2% shooting from the field, 45.0% from 2-point range, and 31.7% from 3-point range. The total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over/under, is 129.5 in the latest Florida Atlantic vs.

Visit ESPN for the game recap of the Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Tennessee Volunteers NCAAM basketball game on March 23, 2023.

Zeigler blew out his right knee against Arkansas on the last day of February, but there was no way the Long Island native was missing a trip back to New York. “So we know we have to be quick to the ball. “The second half, they dropped, we broke it open a little bit.” The Vols had one more push left. We have to be physical. We knew we had to play tougher, but we were up five points, so ...” James said, trailing off. We have to raise our physicality. Even before the tournament started, this was the unquestionably the greatest season in FAU history. But we were disappointed in the way we played. The No. 1 defense in the country, according to KemPom metrics, out of the rugged Southeastern Conference was making FAU work hard for shots. Instead of going to the locker room, some of the Owls players made their way up into the stands to sing “New York, New York” with their fans.

Tennessee basketball senior Josiah-Jordan James is one of those players. So in a somber and quiet locker room, multiple sets of eyes were locked in on him when ...

They’ve accomplished a lot and won a lot of games. Not due to a lack of effort. This was a lack of confidence. Playing a winnable Sweet 16 game in the world’s most famous arena against a mid-major team that -- while undeniably feisty -- was smaller and less talented and trailed by nine in the first half. [Forever good and never great](https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/columnists/university-of-tennessee/john-adams/2023/03/24/tennessee-basketball-rick-barnes-march-madness-sweet-16-ncaa-tournament-history/70022326007/) is a special brand of torture for a sports fan. None of the four seniors scored more than James’ 10 points. “Even to make it this far is a blessing. I also know that of the four teams that played in the East Regional in New York on Thursday night, three played as if they belonged. Maximum effort was all that Tennessee had left, really, having been stripped down to this version by injuries and a late-season slide. “Sometimes you don't seek it out, but things get back to you. They were sad, of course. Things get sent to you.”

New York, NY - The Tennessee Vols basketball team season came to a close Thursday in Madison Square Garden, as the Vols fell to Florida Atlantic in the.

Tennessee shot just 31.3 percent from the field during the first half, while Florida Atlantic out-rebounded the Vols 22-17 in the opening stanza. Florida Atlantic’s 22 points marked their fewest in any half this season. [Jonas Aidoo](https://utsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jonas-aidoo/17565) tallied 10 points and seven rebounds, while [Josiah-Jordan James](https://utsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/josiah-jordan-james/17567) added 10 points and six rebounds.

Boca Raton is on one of the biggest sports stages right now as Florida Atlantic University marches on to the Elite Eight.

"It's good to see them play but now with them going this far and being successful, the teamwork- that's the beauty of it. "This has rejuvenated the love for the game, which I've had all these years, so it's great to see," Forstot said. "I think it's just really great how they've been doing this and got so far."

Tennessee Volunteers basketball's Josiah-Jordan James summed up his team's March Madness loss to the Florida Atlantic with this blunt take.

They should look to one of the team’s leaders for the answer to that question. James admitted it was “tough to say.” Unfortunately for [Florida Atlantic Owls](https://clutchpoints.com/fau-basketball-news-nicholas-boyds-warning-after-upsetting-tennessee).

Who will make the Final Four: Dusty May and the FAU Owls, or Jerome Tang and the Kansas State Wildcats? Here's what March Madness experts are saying.

4 Tennessee](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/owls/2023/03/21/fau-vs-tennessee-prediction-march-madness-experts-florida-atlantic-basketball-vols/70033325007/). 16 [Fairleigh Dickinson](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/owls/2023/03/19/fau-vs-fdu-basketball-live-updates-march-madness-florida-atlantic-university-fairleigh-dickinson/70024058007/). Sophomore guard [Johnell Davis](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2023/03/21/fau-owls-top-players-vs-tennessee-volunteers-in-the-sweet-16/70031668007/) has led the 3-point-heavy offense. [Florida Atlantic](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/owls/2023/03/23/fau-vs-tennessee-basketball-live-updates-march-madness-florida-atlantic-university-vols/70033698007/) will face No. FiveThirtyEight's data modeling gives both Florida Atlantic and Kansas State a 50% chance to win. If Markquis Nowell is at, or near, 100% health on Saturday the Wildcats will deserve to be favorites in the Elite Eight." K-State (26-9, 11-7 in Big 12) was picked to finish last in the conference before the season, but coach Jerome Tang has turned the Wildcats into one of the most exciting teams in college basketball. 259 in NCAA) and allow 8.1 opponent offensive rebounds per game (No. [Florida Atlantic basketball storms back in second half vs. Coach [Dusty May](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/owls/2023/03/09/fau-mens-basketball-head-coach-dusty-may-florida-atlantic-owls/69983270007/) kept the Owls flying with a second-half rally to [upset No. The winner will see their [improbable March Madness run](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/owls/2023/03/23/fau-vs-tennessee-basketball-live-updates-march-madness-florida-atlantic-university-vols/70033698007/) continue all the way to Houston next week. 3 Kansas State on Saturday night at [Madison Square Garden](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2023/03/21/sweet-16-bound-fau-owls-looking-to-be-story-from-madison-square-garden/70032284007/) in the Elite 8.

The Owls pulled off the biggest NCAA Tournament upset in program history on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, defeating the No. 4-seeded Tennessee ...

“It's awesome for our university, our athletic department, and our community, and we are extremely proud to represent them,” May said. So we just need more space to create, and then our guys banged in some shots.” "The first probably several months of the season, we really passed it, and then some teams adjusted where they were staying at home on our shooters. We're here to stay and we're going to keep fighting no matter who we line up against. May said that continuous success is nothing but beneficial to FAU. “I've been having a rough time lately, but my teammates kept the positivity with me, so I owe it all to them.” “We did not plan on leaving tonight at all,” Greenlee said. FAU had a ton of opportunities to come back and spark a run, but the 3-point attempts weren’t falling as they shot 21% from deep. Forrest was held scoreless in the past two tournament games and had not hit a 3-pointer since the Owls' regular-season finale on March 4. “After the first seven minutes or so, we felt like we really settled in and played good basketball. The ninth-seeded Owls will return to the national stage on Saturday to face the No. 3 seed Kansas State Wildcats in the Elite Eight with a place in the Final Four on the line.

It's hard to break old habits, which is exactly what Jerome Tang is counting on with every step his Wildcats advance in the NCAA Tournament. Tempting as it ...

"I'm a big fan of coach May, and I knew him at Florida," Tang said. Since we've been doing that the whole year, I think the guys will be pretty locked in on going 1-0 and not looking ahead to Houston, but just worried about FAU." So like coach Tang said, it's going to be a 40-minute war." "At this point, we're one game away (from the Final Four), and everybody's goal is trying to get to the national championship. "That was our goal from the beginning of the season. "They're obviously well coached, have a great team, great team chemistry. "They're obviously here for a reason," Massoud said. K-State has embraced an underdog mentality all season after being picked by Big 12 coaches to finish last in the conference. And I'm just grateful to be here because you think of how many coaches never get a chance to play in an Elite Eight." "And when you win, it's exhilaration and it's something that you worked so hard for. As a result, the No. In 2010 and 2012, the Bears were eliminated by No.

The No. 3 Wildcats and No. 9 Owls face off in New York City in the Elite Eight of the men's NCAA tournament with a chance to reach the Final Four.