D ANCING IN D ANCING IN

BY SCOTT SILVERSTEN

The 1979 NCAA Tournament championship game is widely considered a watershed moment in the history of college basketball. Michigan State University and Magic Johnson defeated Larry Bird’s Indiana State University. The contest essentially launched the sport into a new era of popularity and growth.

To borrow the title from a noteworthy book about that game, it’s When March Went Mad

The Florida Atlantic University men’s basketball program wouldn’t be born for another nine years, and it would be yet another five years before a move to the Division I level in 1993.

In the more than four decades since that 1979 title game, the NCAA Tournament has annually produced stories that have captured the nation’s attention. The 2022-23 Florida Atlantic Owls are now one of those stories.

The Owls did not make a “Cinderella” run through the tournament. They were too good and accomplished too much well before the madness of March to be considered that type of out-of-nowhere team. It was a team that set program records and established program firsts at just about every juncture of the season, culminating with a spot on the sport’s ultimate stage, the Final Four.

And like every great story, it starts at the beginning.

College basketball memories are made in March, when buzzer-beaters deliver a program’s first NCAA Tournament victory; hard-fought triumphs send a mid-major conference team to one of the sport’s greatest venues; and comeback victories under the bright city lights bring a new level of national attention.

However, the foundation for March memories is often built in November. And that’s where the story begins for the 2022-23 FAU men’s basketball team. Before the winning streak and the ranking, the dual championships and March Madness, there was a five-day, fourcity, two-game road swing that propelled the Owls to new heights.

As Hurricane Nicole approached the Southeast region in early November 2022, Head Coach Dusty May and the Owls prepared for the first road trip of the season: two games at Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponents the University of Mississippi and the University of Florida. The storm played havoc with the team’s travel for five days and FAU fell by 13 points in the first game at Ole Miss.

From Oxford, Mississippi to Gainesville, the team detoured through Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta due to the weather. But a few months later, May would credit those chaotic few days with bringing the players and coaches closer together and setting the stage for the months to follow.