Florida Atlantic guard Alijah Martin faced criticism for his windmill dunk attempt at the end of their NCAA Tournament game vs. Fairleigh Dickinson.
The No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights pulled of what is considered the greatest upset in March Madness history when they defeated the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers in the first-round. The team gained plenty of fans for their huge win, and fans wanted to see who they would fare in the Second Round. The Knights’ opponents standing in their way of making it to the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden were the No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic Owls.
Unfortunately for Fairleigh Dickinson, their magic ran out, as they lost 78-70 to FAU.
At the end of the game, fans were talking about how Owls sophomore guard Alijah Martin decided to finish things. With Fairleigh Dickinson opting to let the clock run out down eight points, junior guard Jalen Gaffney decided to lob a pass to Martin, who went for a flashy windmill dunk to run up the score.
Martin missed it, not that that mattered anyway, and the fans at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio rained boos down on the Owls for their final act of the game.
FAU player criticized for windmill dunk attempt late vs. FDU
It wasn’t just the fans in attendance who took exception for Martin’s actions, but also those on Twitter who were watching the game.
After Martin’s attempt, the two teams met along the sidelines to shake hands. During so, FDU head coach Tobin Anderson had a lengthy conversation with Florida Atlantic head coach Dusty May. The broadcast said it looked as though May was apologizing to Anderson for Martin’s dunk attempt.
This is Florida Atlantic’s second trip to the NCAA Tournament. They previously made it back in the 2002 season, but lost in the first round to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
In the game, Martin scored 14 points (5-for-14 from field, 2-for-5 for three-point line), hauled in three rebounds and dished out two assists in 33 minutes played.
Sophomore guard Johnell Davis led the way for the Owls, recording 29 points (10-for-16 from field, 8-for-9 from free throw line) and 12 rebounds for a double-double.
The Owls will now go to Madison Square Garden in New York City for their Sweet 16 matchup against the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers, who defeated the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils 65-52 in the second round.
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