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
ESPN Events Invitational champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	25–9 (14–4 AAC)
Head coach	Dusty May (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Kyle Church Todd Abernethy Drew Williamson
Home arena	Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	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

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

Departures

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

College recruiting information

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
	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
	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

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 Dusty May (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) Kyle Church (Charlotte) Todd Abernethy (Mississippi) Drew Williamson (Old Dominion) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 5, 2023

Schedule and results

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

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

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

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	10	10	19	13	11	15	14	7	17	24	23	22	20	20	24	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—
Coaches	9	10	20	17	9	14	12	6	17	25	RV	24	23	22	RV	RV	—	—	RV	—	—

References

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.