March Madness continues. There have already been plenty of upsets in this yearās NCAA Tournament, and college hoops fans got to see another one on Saturday after no. 9 Florida Atlantic basketball stunned no. 3 Kansas State in their Elite 8 showdown.
Florida State were expected to put up a good fight against Kansas State despite being slight underdogs, but they did more than just that. The Owls led by the end of the first half and didnāt allow the Wildcats to gain any ground and momentum come the second half, eventually giving them the 79-76 win and a ticket to the Final Four.
Markquis Nowell stepped up big time for Kansas State once again, but his 30 points and 12 assists were not enough to propel the team to victory.
Sure enough, Florida Atlantic supporters and college basketball fans immediately took to Twitter to celebrate and react to the major upset. No top seed remains in the competition, and another giant has just fallen. Not to mention that the Owls have never won an NCAA Tournament game before this year, and now theyāre heading to the Final Four.
āMan, Florida Atlantic is just the coolest story in college basketball. Congrats to Dusty May, Johnell Davis, Alijah Martin, Nick Boyd, Vlad Goldin and all those guys. Love it so much. Just the coolest,ā Sam Vecenie of The Athletic wrote.
NBA legend Magic Johnson added, āFlorida Atlantic defeated Kansas State & is going to the Final Four! Congratulations [FAUMBB]! When the 64 teams were announced, nobody could have picked Florida Atlantic to go to the Final Four. I think this has been the most unbelievable NCAA Tournament Iāve ever seen!ā
Here are more reactions to the massive upset by Florida Atlantic basketball:
9-seed Florida Atlantic doing it for all the Cinderellas šŗ#MarchMadness @FAUMBB pic.twitter.com/SQepi6RqqO
ā NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 26, 2023
The Florida Atlantic University Owls are headed to the Final Four for the first time in program history. pic.twitter.com/JnCV5e1uii
ā Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) March 26, 2023
At the end of November, Florida Atlantic's odds of winning the national title was +250,000.
With their win over Kansas State today, Florida Atlantic just became the first team to PUNCH their ticket to the Final Four š¤Æš¤Æ
What a story.pic.twitter.com/LVbkzx0QAy
ā Ballislife Bets (@BallislifeBets) March 26, 2023
Indeed, what a win for the Owls.