What to know about Tennessee’s Sweet 16 opponent, Florida Atlantic

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

Tennessee is on its way to its first Sweet 16 since 2019 and is eyeing its first Elite Eight since 2010. Standing in the Vols’ way is Florida Atlantic University, which is playing in just its second NCAA Tournament ever.

The Vols path to the Elite Eight got easier when No. 1 Purdue fell to No. 16 seed Farleigh Dickinson, but FAU won’t be an easy feat.

FAU is having a historic season

The Owls are having an unprecedented season. They secured their first 30-win season and just their second 20-win season in program history this year, winning 33 games in route to a Conference USA regular season and tournament championship.

FAU is playing in its first Sweet 16 ever after beating No. 8 Memphis in the round of 64 and ending No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson’s Cinderella run in the round of 32.

The Owls are also ending a 15-year Sweet 16 drought for Conference USA teams. The last Conference USA team to advance as far as FAU was Western Kentucky in 2008.

The Owls are led by Johnell Davis but have a solid supporting cast

Sophomore Johnell Davis has helped FAU achieve much of its success this season. Da- vis averages 13.9 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game.

He put up a game-high 29 points to propel the Owls past FDU in the round of 32. Davis also put up a career-high 36 points earlier this season.

Davis scores at an efficient rate, hitting 50% of his field goals and 38% of his three-pointers. He also is a defensive threat, picking up 1.5 steals per game.

But like Tennessee, FAU has a cast of solid players and doesn’t lean on one player too heavily. The Owls have five other players averaging more than seven points per game.

FAU is well rounded and its No. 9 seed could be deceptive

Don’t let FAU’s low seed fool you — the Owls are a good team. That low seed is mainly a result of the Owls having played in a weaker conference compared to its Power Five counterparts.

FAU is the No. 22 KenPom team and boasts the 30th ranked adjusted offensive efficiency rating in KenPom and 36th ranked adjusted defensive efficiency rating in KenPom.

To put the Owls’ KenPom position in perspective, the No. 21 KenPom team is Kansas State, which is a No. 3 seed and just beat No. 6 Kentucky in the round of 32. The No. 23 Ken-

Pom team is Maryland, which took the Vols down to the wire back in December.

Tennessee has lost to seven teams ranked lower than FAU in KenPom.

Tennessee’s size and physicality will benefit the Vols

Tennessee took a really good Duke team into the mud for 40 minutes on Saturday and came out on top. The Vols leaned on their physicality to get past one of the hottest teams in the country and they will need to continue to play their physical brand of basketball against the Owls.

One area where Tennessee will have an immediate edge is size. FAU has just one player standing taller than 6-foot-8 in its sophomore center Vladislav Goldin. But despite his size, Goldin isn’t going to be a major headache on the defensive end as he struggles to block shots at a high clip.

Get physical in the paint on both the offensive and defensive side and the Vols should have success. If officials allow for a physical game like they did on Saturday, Tennessee will reap the benefits.

The Vols and the Owls will tip off around 9 p.m. ET after the conclusion of Michigan State and Kansas State. The game will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be broadcasted on TBS.