# 2022–23 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls were led by fifth-year head coach Dusty May and played their home games at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Florida as members of Conference USA. The Owls finished the season 35–4, 18–2 in C-USA play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, and UAB 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. They then defeated Fairleigh Dickinson to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Owls defeated Tennessee and Kansas State 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. In the Final Four, they lost to San Diego State.
On January 16, 2023, the Owls were ranked in the AP poll for the first time in program history.
On October 21, 2021, Florida Atlantic accepted an invitation to join the American Athletic Conference and became a full-member on July 1, 2023. As a result, this season was the program's last as a member of Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Owls finished the 2021-22 season 19–15, 11–7 in C-USA play to finish in third place in the East Division. They defeated Southern Miss in the second round of the C-USA tournament before losing to UAB in the quarterfinals. The Owls received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational, where they lost to Northern Colorado in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Madiaw Niang | 1 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Graduate transferred to Radford |
| Everett Winchester | 2 | G | 6'6" | 212 | GS Senior | Baltimore, MD | Graduated |
| Bogdan Zimojic | 5 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Freshman | Belgrade, Serbia | Transferred to Tennessee Tech |
| Kenan Blackshear | 13 | G | 6'6" | 215 | Sophomore | Orlando, FL | Transferred to Nevada |
| Bitumba Baruti | 20 | F | 6'7" | 220 | GS Senior | Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo | Graduated |
| Brant Ulmer | 32 | F | 6'7" | 201 | Junior | Live Oak, FL | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Dardan Kapiti | 35 | F | 6'10" | 213 | Junior | Pristina, Kosovo | Transferred to Eastern Kentucky |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Isaiah Gaines | 5 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Sophomore | Pensacola, FL | Northwest Mississippi CC |
| Jalen Gaffney | 12 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Junior | Columbus, NJ | UConn |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Brenen Lorient SG | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Calvary Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 3, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 9, 2022. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | Lynn | W 81–46 | 1–0 | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,314) Boca Raton, FL |
| November 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Ole Miss | L 67–80 | 1–1 | SJB Pavilion (5,974) Oxford, MS |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Florida | W 76–74 | 2–1 | O'Connell Center (7,180) Gainesville, FL |
| November 17, 2022* 7:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | Bryant Paradise Invitational | W 85–74 | 3–1 | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,452) Boca Raton, FL |
| November 19, 2022* 6:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | Detroit Mercy Paradise Invitational | W 76–55 | 4–1 | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,420) Boca Raton, FL |
| November 26, 2022* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Albany | W 73–56 | 5–1 | McDonough Sports Complex (1,093) Troy, NY |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | South Alabama | W 84–59 | 6–1 | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,303) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 4, 2022* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | W 101–73 | 7–1 | George Gervin GameAbove Center (4,192) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 85–53 | 8–1 | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (2,281) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | St. Thomas (FL) | W 97–74 | 9–1 | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,316) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 17, 2022 2:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | FIU | W 79–53 | 10–1 (1–0) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,797) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 21, 2022* 7:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | Northern Kentucky | W 67–52 | 11–1 (1–0) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,448) Boca Raton, FL |
| December 29, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Texas | W 50–46 | 12–1 (2–0) | UNT Coliseum (3,808) Denton, TX |
| January 5, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UAB | W 88–86 | 13–1 (3–0) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (2,561) Boca Raton, FL |
| January 7, 2023 2:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | Charlotte | W 71–67 | 14–1 (4–0) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (1,816) Boca Raton, FL |
| January 11, 2023 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at FIU | W 77–73 $^{OT}$ | 15–1 (5–0) | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (2,244) Miami, FL |
| January 14, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Texas | W 66–62 | 16–1 (6–0) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,060) Boca Raton, FL |
| January 16, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 24 | at Western Kentucky | W 76–62 | 17–1 (7–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,206) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 19, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 24 | at UTSA | W 83–64 | 18–1 (8–0) | Convocation Center (1,210) San Antonio, TX |
| January 21, 2023 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 24 | at UTEP | W 67–59 | 19–1 (9–0) | Don Haskins Center (5,421) El Paso, TX |
| January 26, 2023 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 21 | Middle Tennessee | W 85–67 | 20–1 (10–0) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,082) Boca Raton, FL |
| January 28, 2023 4:00 pm, Stadium | No. 21 | Western Kentucky | W 70–63 | 21–1 (11–0) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,012) Boca Raton, FL |
| February 2, 2023 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 19 | at UAB | L 77–86 | 21–2 (11–1) | Bartow Arena (5,028) Birmingham, AL |
| February 4, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 19 | at Charlotte | W 67–52 | 22–2 (12–1) | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,037) Charlotte, NC |
| February 9, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Rice | W 90–81 | 23–2 (13–1) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,027) Boca Raton, FL |
| February 11, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | W 90–85 $^{OT}$ | 24–2 (14–1) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (2,982) Boca Raton, FL |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 25 | at Middle Tennessee | L 70–74 | 24–3 (14–2) | Murphy Center (3,402) Murfreesboro, TN |
| February 23, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UTSA | W 106–66 | 25–3 (15–2) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,049) Boca Raton, FL |
| February 25, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 75–49 | 26–3 (16–2) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,130) Boca Raton, FL |
| March 2, 2023 8:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | at Rice | W 103–74 | 27–3 (17–2) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,040) Houston, TX |
| March 4, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Louisiana Tech | W 76–72 | 28–3 (18–2) | Thomas Assembly Center (2,326) Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) Western Kentucky Quarterfinals | W 75–51 | 29–3 | Ford Center at The Star (1,773) Frisco, TX |
| March 10, 2023 12:30 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (4) Middle Tennessee Semifinals | W 68–65 | 30–3 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 11, 2023 7:30 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (3) UAB Championship | W 78–56 | 31–3 | Ford Center at The Star (1,681) Frisco, TX |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 17, 2023* 9:20 pm, TNT | (9 E) No. 25 | vs. (8 E) No. 24 Memphis First Round | W 66–65 | 32–3 | Nationwide Arena (19,564) Columbus, OH |
| March 19, 2023* 7:45 p.m., truTV | (9 E) No. 25 | vs. (16 E) Fairleigh Dickinson Second Round | W 78–70 | 33–3 | Nationwide Arena (19,566) Columbus, OH |
| March 23, 2023* 9:00 p.m., TBS | (9 E) No. 25 | vs. (4 E) No. 20 Tennessee Sweet Sixteen | W 62–55 | 34–3 | Madison Square Garden (19,624) New York, NY |
| March 25, 2023* 6:09 p.m., TBS | (9 E) No. 25 | vs. (3 E) No. 15 Kansas State Elite Eight | W 79–76 | 35–3 | Madison Square Garden (19,680) New York, NY |
| April 1, 2023* 6:09 p.m., CBS | (9 E) No. 25 | vs. (5 S) No. 18 San Diego State Final Four | L 71–72 | 35–4 | NRG Stadium (73,860) Houston, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. S=South. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 19 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 25 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 5 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.