The Florida Atlantic Owls and Kansas State Wildcats will take the court on Saturday in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off from Madison Square Garden in New York City is at 6:09 p.m. ET.
FAU (34-3 SU and 23-11-1 ATS) upset four-seed Tennessee in the Sweet 16. The Owls beat Memphis and Fairleigh Dickinson in the first two rounds.
K-State (26-9 SU and 23-12 ATS) beat seven-seed Michigan State in the Sweet 16. The Wildcats defeated Montana State and Kentucky in its first two tourney games.
The Wildcats are two-point spread favorites and the game total is 144.5 points.
Florida Atlantic advanced past the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history on Thursday, taking out the Vols with a strong second-half showing. FAU outscored UT 40-28 after the break, leading to the Owls' 34th victory in 37 games this season. While Florida Atlantic wasn't lights out from the field, it did hold Tennessee under 35 percent from the field, including 6-for-23 from long range. It also won the rebounding battle 40-36 with 12 offensive boards.
Sophomore guard Johnell Davis paces FAU in scoring. He averages 13.9 points on 49.6 percent shooting and 5.4 assists. A few other Owls to watch on Saturday are sophomore guard Alijah Martin (13.0 PPG and 5.2 RPG), 7-foot-1 sophomore center Vladislav Goldin (10.2 PPG and 6.4 RPG), freshman guard Nicholas Boyd (9.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG), and senior guard&#x A0;Michael Forrest (8.5 PPG).
THE OWLS ARE COOKING ?? @FAUMBB pic.twitter.com/ui2hf9or0h
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 24, 2023
FAU averages 79.3 points per game (26th) and shoots 47.2 percent from the floor (41st) with a
37.8 shooting percentage from three-point distance (22nd). It converts 71.2 percent of its free throws (205th) and averages 35.2 rebounds (30th) with a +5.4 rebounding margin. The Owls are 26th in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
FAU gives up 65.7 points per game on defense (60th), and its opponents shoot 41.1 percent (40th), including 33.3 percent from long range (145th). The Owls are 29th in schedule-adjusted defensive efficiency.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $100 1st w/ promocode WandW!