Nobody wants to be the asshole. But I feel like I’m about to be.
Are we SURE we want to anoint FAU ahead of next year?
I take NOTHING away from what the Owls did in 2022-23. It was a magical season featuring pretty much every program-first you can think of—first 30-win season, first CUSA titles, first NCAA Tournament win, first Sweet 16/Elite Eight/Final Four appearance in program history. If you didn’t root for them at every turn, you were either an alum/fan of the opposing school or a heartless monster who hates underdogs, Santa Claus and the concept of happiness. I hope you’re proud of yourself, because your mother certainly isn’t.
The Owls season was one for the ages. But the rush to declare them a top-flight program heading into next year seems a tad premature. It seems to be born of the same family of thoughts that led to North Carolina taking preseason No. 1 honors a year ago—that a surprisingly charmed tournament run and the return of most of the principle characters involved in it should make you a no-brainer choice to run the whole thing back a second time.
Please check North Carolina’s 2022-23 results for more information on how that went.