WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May is starting to get some national accolades for his team's historic run to the Final Four.
May was recognized by CBS Sports as its college basketball coach of the year Thursday morning, the first of several national awards being presented in the days leading up to the Final Four.
Picked fifth in the Conference USA preseason poll, the Owls steamrolled through the league, earned a spot in the Associated Press top 25 poll for the first time in school history and reeled off 20 straight wins, beginning with their first-ever victory against the Gators. May was a former assistant at Florida before coming to FAU in 2018.
FAU's 35-3 record leads the nation. The Owls not only finished 18-2 in conference play to win the regular-season title, but they claimed the C-USA Tournament trophy in their final season in the league – and they did so by knocking off the only two teams to beat them in the regular season.
Before this year, FAU had never won a national postseason tournament game in its history. That includes the National Invitational Tournament, CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and College Basketball Invitational.
In just his fifth season, May already has more wins than any other Owls coach in school history. His 101 victories are 25 more than the next-best coach, Mike Jarvis, who went 76-112 in six seasons at FAU.
The Associated Press, as it has every year since 1967, will name its men's basketball coach of the year Friday, but don't expect May to win it. The voting is conducted at the conclusion of the regular season, so FAU's impressive performance in the NCAA tournament won't be a factor among the 58 media members who participated.
CBS Sports, which televises the Final Four, considers conference and postseason tournaments in its voting.