WATCH: Florida Atlantic disrespects Fairleigh Dickinson in closing seconds of Round of 32 matchup

The Cinderella run for No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson reached its midnight tonight with their loss to No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the Round of 32. However, the Owls, specifically Alijah Martin, didn’t send them out softly, though, with a decision at the end of the game that made them look worse than an evil stepmother.

When it comes to basketball, one unwritten rule is calling off the offense when the game is clearly over. Even so, Martin had other plans as he went up for an unguarded highlight while up eight in the final seconds.

Florida Atlantic's Alijah Martin tries a huge dunk with the game out of hand in the final seconds and hears boos.

FAU head coach Dusty May appears to apologize to FDU head coach Tobin Anderson, who was upset.🏀 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Is2rIF8GJx

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 20, 2023

Afterward, FAU head coach Dusty May explained his extended conversation with FDU’s Tobin Anderson with Jamie Erdahl. He said he had to address some trash-talk that took place and that he apologized for what took place in the closing seconds.

“Someone said one of our guys talked to their bench. I apologized to him for that but also reminded him that we’re the adults. We’ve gotta fix that behavior,” May said. “It’s part of the game but I apologized to him.”

The Owls earned their celebration considering the win and the fact that they’re headed to their first-ever Sweet Sixteen. However, doing so in that fashion at the expense of the Knights, especially considering FDU had their chances with the lead, came across as very poor form by Martin and FAU.

Kentucky elimination cements unusual stat involving Duke, North Carolina, Kansas

As the Sweet Sixteen gets set to begin, there are a noticeable lack of blue blood programs in this year’s version. Duke, Kansas , and Kentucky all lost in the second round while North Carolina missed out on the NCAA Tournament entirely.

That marks the second time in the past three seasons that all four of those schools have failed to make the round of 16. According to CBS, the 2021 season ended a 40-year streak from 1980-2019 in which at least one of those programs was in the Sweet Sixteen every season.

Number of Sweet 16's WITHOUT:

North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas

1980-2019 0
2021-2023 2 pic.twitter.com/Hch9sTWTtn

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 19, 2023

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