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.[1] 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.[2][3]
On October 21, 2021, Florida Atlantic accepted an invitation to join the American Athletic Conference[4] and became a full-member on July 1, 2023.[5] As a result, this season was the program's last as a member of Conference USA.[6]
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.
Source[7]
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.