FAU coach Dusty May was talking Saturday postgame about the 2023-24 Owls’ need to recapture their 2022-23 edge. Weve got to find a way, he said, to go back to being the hunter instead of the hunted. The reality after their last-second 70-68 upset loss at Charlotte is that they probably now have no choice. It doesnt matter that they actually took a brief late lead after overcoming a 17-point, second-half deficit. In the cold, hard NCAA Tournament resume business, metrics are undefeated against moral victories. And the No. 17 Owls, probably in the final days as a nationally ranked team for awhile, fell to 11-4 overall, with the loss Saturday their third against a sub .500 team. That outcome reduces the margin for error in earning an at-large NCAA bid to all but beating everyone else in the American Athletic Conference regular season, including revenge-minded Memphis twice. Otherwise, the only path back to the NCAA Tournament for a second-chance at another magical March run would be to win the conference tournament, which would make FAU the AACs automatic qualifier. Were very open, honest and transparent with where we think we are, what we need to do from a big picture standpoint, May said. These guys knew last February we couldnt drop any more games to have a chance to get an at-large bid. Were not hiding anything from them. Its part of it. These guys have shown they can play with pressure on them, and obviously our goal is to win a conference championship first and foremost. Nick Boyds return to form Saturday (19 points) notwithstanding, the prospects of regrouping for the AAC Tournament might be the more promising option. Its unclear if a quick fix is possible for the Owls (11-4), who now have lost as many games in two months as they did all last season. Boyd (shown via FAU Athletics) might at least have provided an important missing ingredient. He scored 15 points in the second half, which began with FAU down 15. The Owls, who actually trailed by 19 in the first half, fell back twice more by 17the last time at 45-28before beginning their comeback. Boyd, who missed seven games with a leg injury, had not been his impactful self since his return. Boyds driving layup and-one tied the game 53-53 with 6:30 left. His free throws tied the game again at 57-57 and 61-61. In between, Alijah Martin had given the Owls a short-lived 59-57 lead. But as has been the case this season, another low-percentage shooter hurt the Owls with high-leverage points. After Johnell Davis (20 points) tied the game with free throws at 63, Pattersona 29 percent 3-point shooter this seasonhit an open 3 on a ball-screen defensive mistake. Davis and Patterson traded baskets again before Davis nailed a 3 to provide the last tie with 13 seconds left. On Charlottes final possession, Bryan Greenlee got caught on a high ball screen, scrambled back into the play but was called for a foul as Patterson shot from inside the lane. His free throws provided the deciding points. We felt like it was going to come to him and we wanted to force a tough shot, May said. Obviously B.J. didnt intend to foul him. We thought we got him to to take the shot we wanted, but it didnt work out for us. Even then the Owls almost pulled off a miracle. Inbounding with 1.7 seconds left, ex-high school quarterback Martin threw a perfect bomb that Goldin snatched and redirected to Boyd in the deep corner. Boyds shot rimmed out. If Boyds second-half scoring was part of the near-solution Saturday, part of FAUs problem was that Boyd also scored its first two pointsand he didnt enter the game until after the first timeout. The 49ers had taken a 9-0 lead before Boyds layup almost 6 minutes in. Charlotte (7-7) controlled the game from the beginning, and by copying all or parts of the same formula thats worked regularly against the Owls. How To Frustrate FAU, CliffsNotes version: 1. Apply heavy physicality on defense to keep the Owls from starting fast. 2. Spread the Owls out at the other end to limit team help, open easy rolls to the basket and force one-on-one clear-outs. The 49ers didnt do 2 until gradually seeing a few shots drop and getting comfortable on offense. They did 1 from the opening tip. The Owls worked the ball inside early but never got comfortable looks. Vlad Goldin missed, then Davis, then Goldin again, then Martin had his shot blocked, then Giancarlo Rosado missed off-balanced in traffic. The Owls eventually worked their way to 43 percent shooting overall but missed 14 of 19 3-pointers. They pressed, and they tried to disrupt our rhythm and flow, May said. Thats something weve seen the last several games. Obviously, they went back and looked at the games weve lost, where teams played zone and did different things to try to get us off balance. Absolutely, I thought it was a very physical game early on. They were aggressive, and hats off to them. They played a very determined basketball game. They also were out rebounded 30-25 and managed only five assists to 12 for the 49ers, who found cutter after cutter in the first half for layups. Its no secret, when you look at the games weve lost, we havent shot well from the perimeter, May said. We just arent defending and rebounding as well as we need to when the shots arent dropping. Even if it wasnt enough, the Owls responded to halftime adjustments on offense and defense and played much better. The adjusting may not be done, though, as the Owls prepare for another challenging AAC road game Thursday at Tulane. Well definitely look at some different things, May said.
