Bill Raftery didn’t quite understand why it took Jonel Davis so long to make a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the game against Florida Atlantic.
After Brooks Bernhiser’s layup tied the game at 58 points, Davis, the Owls’ junior guard, finally had the ball and had a chance to do something – drive for a layup. , making open jumpers and at least trying to circulate passes and create a spark — something that would produce game-winning points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
But Davis stalled.
He continued to stall.
He kept dribbling until the clock ticked down to three seconds, at which point Davis was swallowed up by two Northwestern defenders and took a 3-point shot that was blocked and missed the rim.
“What’s he doing?” Raftery, one of the CBS analysts along with Ian Eagle and Grant Hill, asked after the horn signaled overtime.
FAU trailed by nine points with 6:43 left and had a chance to come back and take the lead, but lost the first round game at Barclays Center, 77-65 in overtime.
Ryan Langborg led the Wildcats with 27 points, and Boo Bui added 22 points.
Davis, who led FAU in scoring with 18.2 points per game during the regular season, was a key contributor in the Owls’ run to the Final Four last year, scoring 29 points against Fairleigh Dickinson and 15 against Tennessee. Scored 13 points against Kansas State. Sweet 16.
Although they ultimately lost to San Diego State in the Final Four, a 25-8 record in 2023-24 secured an at-large victory after losing to Temple in the Atlantic-10 semifinals. and helped get him back into March Madness.
Davis scored 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting against Northwestern.
He scored 11 of his 20 points in a low-scoring first half that gave Florida Atlantic a one-point lead at halftime.
However, a bizarre 3-point shot near the end of regulation and a brutal overtime period led to Florida Atlantic’s loss, allowing Northwestern to advance and defeating No. 16 Stetson, 52-19, at the end of the first half. They were likely to play against state. How they competed.
