For the first time in over 20 years, the FAU Owls are going dancing.

On Saturday night, FAU men’s basketball (31-3, 18-2 C-USA) defeated the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers 78-56 in the C-USA Tournament Championship, earning themselves an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Their victory in the conference championship secured them a spot in “The Big Dance”; However, it will not be revealed until tomorrow, March 12, or “Selection Sunday”, where the Owls will be seeded within the bracket of 68 teams. 

Their advance to the NCAA Tournament is the latest of a laundry list of accomplishments the Owls have made this season, including an undefeated home record of 17-0 and the program’s first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. More than that, it is also the culmination of a five year upward swing the Owls have been on since head coach Dusty May took over the reins.

When May was hired, he inherited a program coming off of seven consecutive losing seasons. Since taking over, he’s led the Owls to five consecutive winning seasons; and now, an NCAA Tournament berth. 

The 2001-02 FAU men’s basketball team, the only previous squad to make their way to the Big Dance, earned the South Region’s 15-seed before falling in the round of 64 to the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. 

This year’s team, however, boasted a much more impressive resume, including 11 more regular season wins than the 01-02 squad. 

The Owls seed will be revealed on CBS’ Selection Sunday broadcast, which will begin at 6 p.m. The bracket reveal will also be streamed on NCAA.com and the March Madness Live app.

Cameron Priester is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @PriesterCameron