Owls survive, set to face Fairleigh Dickinson in Round of 32
FAU defeated the Memphis Tigers 66-65 Friday, advancing them to the second round, where they’ll face the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
FAU Men’s Basketball posing with their trophy after winning the C-USA Feb. 25, 2023. Gasner Delvarin Jr
Cameron Priester, Sports Editor
March 18, 2023
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Owls have survived, and advanced.
FAU men’s basketball’s (32-4, 18-2 C-USA) historic season will live to see another day, after they defeated the #24 University of Memphis Tigers 66-65 in the Round of 64 Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
Sophomore center Giancarlo Rosado headed the scoring charge with 15 points and 3 rebounds, leading the Owls on the 2-point upset over the 8-seed Tigers, which marks their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.
As they live to see another day, the stakes only continue to get raised. Their Friday night victory books them for a meeting on Sunday with the 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights (21-15, 10-6 NEC).
The Knights booked their ticket to the Round of 32 in an upset for the ages, hours before FAU took the court. On Friday night, Fairleigh Dickinson became just the second 16-seed in NCAA Tournament history to take down a 1-seed in the Round of 64, knocking off the Purdue University Boilermakers 63-48.
The second-round matchup will mark FAU’s first appearance in the Round of 32, as well as the first matchup with Fairleigh Dickinson, in program history.
The only other time a 16-seed accomplished that feat came in 2018, when the University of Maryland-Baltimore County defeated the University of Virginia Cavaliers.
Both coming off of marquee wins in the Round of 64, FAU and Fairleigh Dickinson’s second-round meeting is set for Sunday, March 19, and will also be played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45 pm and will be broadcast by truTV.
Editor’s Note: The UP updated this story as of 3/17 to include broadcast information*
Cameron Priester is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email cpriester2020@fau.edu or tweet him @PriesterCameron