The No. 8 seed in the East region Florida Atlantic Owls (21-11) take on the No. 9 seed Northwestern Wildcats (21-11) in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Northwestern comes into the 2024 NCAA Tournament losers of three of their last four games. FAU had another dominating regular season out of the American Athletic Conference but lost by one point in the semifinals of the conference tournament to an under .500 Temple team.
FAU will look to follow up an improbable run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament that took them to the Final Four. The Owls begin that quest on Friday in Brooklyn.
FAU-Northwestern Season Analysis
FAU has eight returning starters from last year’s Final Four team. The Owls are led by Guard Johnell Davis. He leads the team in both points per game (18.2) and assists (3.0). FAU features one of the best offenses in the nation. Their 82.5 points per game is the 16th-best in college basketball.
Northwestern’s offense will go as far as Point Guard Boo Buie takes them. He is averaging over 19 points per game for a Northwestern offense that has struggled at times this season to put the ball in the basket. Their offense will need to be better for them to keep up with FAU’s offensive attack.
How Will FAU-Northwestern Unfold
FAU has one clear weak spot and that is their defense. The Owls defense is 229th in the nation surrendering over 73 points per game. The question that will decide this game is if Northwestern has the offensive firepower to exploit this clear weakness. Even with a shaky defense, FAU is top 30 in blocks per game.
FAU must not dwell on a shocking loss to end their season as they look to bounce back against a Northwestern team they have both the talent and experience advantage over.
Northwestern was playing well entering the Big 10 Tournament but sputtered to end the season. If the Wildcats can regain the momentum they had to end the regular season, this should be one of the best games of the day. The Wildcats will need to shoot well from three-point range with points in the paint being hard to come by against FAU. Luckily for Northwestern, they have the fifth-highest three-point percentage in the nation.
About The Author
Justin has always loved sports. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated and 247Sports. Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.