Katie Stratman, FAU Sports, 2023

Owls to meet the Bonnies in Springfield.

Earlier this week, Florida Atlantic University announced that the men’s basketball team will be taking place in the Hall of Fame Classic in late December. The tournament is played annually in Springfield, Massachusetts, the home of the world famous Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Owls will play the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure, while the University of Massachusetts will play West Virginia University on the other side of the bracket. 

With head coach Dusty May locked up for 10 more years, FAU stars Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis look likely to return this season barring an enormous jump in draft stock. The Owls are looking to return at full power, fresh off their final four run, and they’ll have an early chance to prove they are the same team as the season before.

The Owls will also take place in the ESPN Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend, alongside some of the most skilled teams in the nation. The field includes 5 other teams that made the tournament in 2023; Penn State, Iowa State, Boise State, VCU, and Texas A&M, as well as two non tournament teams, Virginia Tech, and Butler. Florida Atlantic is the first team to participate in the tournament after a Final Four run since Villanova in 2018.

The bracket for the ESPN Invitational will be announced this coming summer, but no matter the opponent, the Owls will be ready, and battle tested, for a chance to bring home the trophy, and hopefully bring home another in mid December when they head to Springfield.

Returning a loaded, experienced, and highly skilled roster in 2024, the Owls will look to prove that 2023 was not a fluke, and that they are in fact a national championship contender, once again. 

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