For the first time since the 2008 NCAA Tournament, a team from out of Conference USA has made the Elite Eight.
Ironically, Florida Atlantic wasn’t even C-USA the last time the conference reached this stage of March Madness. The Owls were still competing out of the Atlantic Sun Conference, making their only previous tournament appearance in 2002.
Not that C-USA is counting that against the Owls, especially with Dusty May’s team reaching a stage seldom enjoyed by the conference. They were able to secure their bid to the Elite Eight with a 62-55 upset over 4-seed Tennessee in Thursday’s Sweet 16 and will now take on Markquis Nowell and Kansas State in the next round.
The Owls, a 9 seed, will be underdogs in that matchup. But that was the case against Memphis in the first round, and Tennessee on Thursday. (FAU played 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the second round).
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May’s team will now seek to become just the fourth team in C-USA history to reach the Final Four in the conference’s history. Whether the Owls can make it another round remains to be seen, though that certainly doesn’t take away from what has been an impressive run thus far.
Here’s Conference USA’s history of teams to make the Elite Eight, Final Four and beyond:
Who is last C-USA team to reach the Elite Eight?
The last C-USA team to reach the Elite Eight was Memphis, which advanced all the way to the national championship game against Kansas before ultimately falling 75-68 in overtime. The Tigers held a 63-60 lead in the game’s waning seconds, but Mario Chalmers hit a timely 3 to send the game to overtime.
The Tigers were the No. 1 seed out of the South Region, making their third straight NCAA Tournament run through at least the Elite Eight. At the time they were only the sixth team to reach the Elite Eight out of Conference USA.
MORE: Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell becomes king of New York
C-USA’s best finishes in NCAA Tournament
Apart from that 2007-08 Memphis team, several Conference USA teams have made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, though none between Memphis in 2008 and Florida Atlantic in 2023.
| Tournament | Team | Seed | Round reached | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Cincinnati | 2 seed | Elite Eight | 73-63 loss to 5-seed Mississippi State |
| 1997 | Louisville | 6 seed | Elite Eight | 97-74 loss to 1-seed North Carolina |
| 2003 | Marquette | 3 seed | Final Four | 94-61 loss to 2-seed Kansas |
| 2005 | Louisville | 4 seed | Final Four | 72-57 loss to 1-seed Illinois |
| 2006 | Memphis | 1 Seed | Elite Eight | 50-45 loss to 2-seed UCLA |
| 2007 | Memphis | 2 seed | Elite Eight | 92-76 loss to 1-seed Ohio State |
| 2008 | Memphis | 1 seed | National championship | 75-68 OT loss to 1-seed Kansas |
| 2023 | FAU | 9 seed | Elite Eight | vs. 3-seed Kansas State |
Lowest-seeded C-USA team to reach Elite Eight
Florida Atlantic made history on Thursday by becoming the lowest-seeded team out of Conference USA to ever reach the Elite Eight. Though eight teams out of the conference had previously made this round of the tournament, the next-lowest-seeded team was Louisville in 1997, as a 6 seed.
