FAU’s Final Four team reunites in the NCAA Tournament after players, coach scattered

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GAINESVILLE. Fla. (AP) — The group chat that includes Nick Boyd, Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin was buzzing Sunday night.

The former Florida Atlantic starters — now scattered across the country and playing for other teams — landed on the same side of the NCAA Tournament bracket, meaning the close friends and ex-teammates don’t have a chance to reunite in the Final Four.

They’d gladly settle for Elite Eight matchups.

“I’d love to compete against any of them,” Boyd told The Associated Press. “They’re my brothers; we would have so much fun.”

Boyd, Davis, Martin and center Vladislav Goldin — four of the five starters who carried FAU to the Final Four in 2023 — are part of March Madness for a third consecutive year. This time, though, they’re wearing different uniforms.

Boyd transferred to San Diego State and is the Aztecs’ leading scorer at 13.4 points a game. Davis landed at Arkansas and ranks third on the Razorbacks at 11.2 points a game. Martin stayed much closer to FAU’s campus and joined Florida, where he’s the Gators’ second-leading scorer at 14.5 points a game. Goldin followed coach Dusty May to Michigan and has blossomed into one of the nation’s most dominant big men, averaging 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds.

They’re as good individually as they were collectively.

“You go down the list, and a bunch of our guys had monster seasons,” Boyd said. “You go somewhere else and get a fresh start, and when you’re as talented and as smart and as experienced as you are, you never know what type of role you can create for yourself — and the sky’s the limit.”

No one would be surprised to see one of them basking in confetti and cutting down nets in San Antonio next month. Martin would have to be considered the favorite because Florida is a No. 1 seed and one of the hottest teams in the nation, winners of 12 of its last 13 and the Southeastern Conference Tournament champs.

“This team could finish it off, finish the job, honestly,” Martin…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/faus-final-four-team-reunites-141359847.html

Author : MARK LONG

Publish date : 2025-03-17 14:13:00

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