Tennessee Volunteers forward Uros Plavsic. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
FAU called out Tennessee for playing a rough style of basketball before their Sweet 16 matchup. The Vols lived up to their reputation with a bad flagrant.
If you ask some commentators, Tennessee got away with plenty of contact going up against Duke in the Second Round of March Madness.
FAU head coach Dusty May even said he was “going to study Australian rugby rules” to get ready to face the Volunteers in the Sweet 16.
He insisted that comment was made “in the most complimentary way possible” but it certainly looked like he was right to imply Tennessee plays a little too rough. Uros Plavsic proved it with a dirty flagrant foul in the second half of the loss.
The broadcast initially missed what the refs were calling flagrant, but once the video came through it was clear as day. Even Tennessee fans couldn’t argue against that one.
FAU made Tennessee pay for a dirty flagrant foul
FAU got the last laugh, not just because Vladislav Goldin converted one of his two free throw attempts and the Owls got another possession. They ended up holding on to their lead all the way to the final buzzer, pulling off a huge upset to book a date in the Elite 8.
The Owls had not won an NCAA Tournament before this year. They got their first one with a one-point win over No. 8 seed Memphis in the Round of 64. Then they spoiled No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson’s party in the Round of 32 to advance to the Sweet 16. There they met the Volunteers, who led by as many as nine points before allowing FAU to battle back.
Now they get to take on No. 3 seed Kansas State as one of the Cinderella stories of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
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