Florida Atlantic upsets Kansas State to reach Final Four: Best memes, tweets

The No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls are heading to the Final Four after a thrilling 79-76 upset win over the No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats.

The 2023 men’s NCAA Tournament has provided fans and casual viewers with some monumental upsets throughout the first three rounds. Entering this weekend, the Elite Eight didn’t have a single No. 1 seed for the first time ever. The very first spot in the Final Four in Houston has been clinched, and it should come as no surprise based off how the tournament has gone so far, that it’s a No. 9 seed who punched their ticket.

On Saturday, in Madison Square Garden, the No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls defeated the No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats, 79-76, to clinch their spot in the Final Four for the first time in their program’s history.

The Owls led late in the second half, taking a late 74-69 lead on a made layup by Johnell Davis with a little over a minute remaining. But, the Wildcats were able to crawl back and keep pace with the Owls, even bringing their deficit to 75-74 on a made three-pointer by Cam Carter. But, Kansas State’s fouls on Michael Forrest proved to be their detriment, as he made four clutch free throws late to clinch the victory for the Owls.

After the game, head coach Dusty May gave everyone a reason to root for the Owls going forward.

Let’s take a look at some of the reactions after Florida Atlantic’s incredible victory and Kansas State’s gutsy effort.

Best memes and tweets after FAU upsets Kansas State in Elite Eight

What is truly remarkable about FAU’s run is that they had never won an NCAA Tournament game in their program’s history. But that all changed when they beat No. 8 Memphis 66-65 in the opening round. One win was all they needed, as they went on to defeat the No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, followed by an upset win over the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers, before clinching their spot in Houston with a win over Kansas State.

Sophomore guard Alijah Martin led the way for the Owls, scoring a team-high 17 points while shooting 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-7 from the three-point line.

Then there was sophomore center Vladislav Goldin, who notched a double-double by scoring 14 points (6-for-11 from field) and grabbing 13 rebounds. Not to mention he blocked two shots.

As for Kansas State, the run of senior guard Markquis Nowell reached its end, but not without another spectacular performance. Nowell scored 30 points (8-for-21 from field, 9-for-10 from free throw line) and dished out 12 assists for a double-double. Add five steals and three rebounds to it, and you have another memorable showing by the Harlem-native at Madison Square Garden.

Florida Atlantic is heading to the Final Four, and will face the winner of No. 5 San Diego State and No. 6 Creighton on Apr. 1, with a spot in the national championship game on the line.

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