After a trip to the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, FAU came into the season knowing it wasn't going to catch any teams by surprise this season. The No. 14 Owls certainly had to earn their 96-95 double-overtime victory vs. No. 4 Arizona on Saturday in the Desert Classic at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in one of the best games of the season so far.
The Owls (10-2) outlasted the Wildcats (9-2) in a wild back-and-forth contest which wasn't decided until Arizona's Caleb Love missed a 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim after 49:58 of basketball had elapsed. The win was the biggest regular-season victory in FAU history and its first over a top-10 team.
The historic victory was anything but easy for the Owls. FAU fell behind early, trailing 19-5 with less than seven minutes remaining before halftime. But faced with a potential blowout, the Owls caught fire and cut the Wildcats' lead to 37-31 at the break.
FAU TAKES DOWN NO. 4 ARIZONA!!! @FAUMBB pic.twitter.com/sJufVFdcG8
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 23, 2023
The Owls dominated the second half, shooting 57.1% from the field and 33% from behind the arc. FAU took its first lead at the 17:18 mark of the second half on a dunk by Vlad Goldin that put the Owls in front 43-41. After scoring eight points in the first half, FAU's Johnell Davis scored 17 points in the second half and 10 more in the overtime periods to finish with a game-high 35.
Arizona, which seemed to be a step faster than FAU in the game's early stages, eventually began to wear down. Oumar Ballo tallied just four of his 13 points and seven of his 21 rebounds after halftime. To make matters worse, the Wildcats ran into foul trouble with Pelle Larssson (15 points) and KJ Lewis (10 points) fouling out.
Before the victory vs. Arizona, FAU was 0-7 vs. top-10 teams.
