Florida Atlantic men’s basketball (14-12, 6-7 AC) has not won a game since Jan. 18. After their largest losing streak in eight years, two of our sports reporters provide their outlook on the losing streak.

Mikai Datilus, Sports Editor

Things have looked bleak for Florida Atlantic men’s basketball; they’ve just lost their sixth game in a row for the first time since 2018. FAU initially started 14-6, turning heads with highlight wins over Tulane (15-10, 6-6 AC), UAB (16-10, 7-6 AC), and Temple (15-10, 7-5 AC). Through the last six games, the highlights have halted and the Owls have stacked losses.

The losing streak kicked off with an 89-75 loss to South Florida (18-8, 10-3 AC), and reached six with another loss to South Florida, this time 83-81, in overtime. FAU’s second loss came against Memphis (12-13, 7-5 AC), a team that they’d already defeated, but in the second matchup, they were shorthanded, missing leading scorer guard Kanaan Carlyle and forward Devin Vanterpool.

Vanterpool has been back for the other losses, but Carlyle has not. Carlyle attempted to take the floor versus East Carolina University (9-16, 4-8 AC), but tweaked his ankle again.

Carlyle returned against USF, but FAU lost again, and honestly, it’s hard to find a theme within the six-game losing streak. I was front row for FAU’s heartbreaking loss to ECU, which I would call the worst loss of the streak.

The Owls went down to the wire for the entire game against a 9-16 team that they’d never lost to at home, and they allowed ECU guard Jordan Riley to erupt for 35 points, including a pair of game-winning free throws.

The struggles defensively, particularly during clutch time (the last five minutes of a game when the score is within five), have been a major reason for the Owls’ losses. During this losing streak, they’ve lost three games by a combined five points, and a lack of late-game execution has been a major reason.

Against ECU, freshman forward Josiah Parker missed a big free throw, which could have tied the game, ultimately sealing the Owls’ loss. Against Tulsa (20-6, 8-5 AC), FAU fouled guard Miles Barnstable with 32 seconds left, putting Tulsa up five, and then guard Isiah Elohim missed free throws as they fouled him on a three-point shot, which also would have tied the game.

Sunday may have been their toughest loss, but it followed the same theme: FAU went to overtime against USF, the number one team in the conference, but once again fouled, this time USF guard C.J. Brown, allowing him to make game-winning free throws for the Bulls.

A prevalent saying in sports is “Good teams find ways to win”, and over the past six games, FAU has not done that; they have shot themselves in the foot with costly fouls and missed free throws, losing games both with injuries and with the entire team healthy.

However, the Owls aren’t out yet; 10 teams make the American Conference playoffs, and the Owls are currently ranked tenth. Their last five games are all in-conference, and a big win streak to end the year could give the Owls a chance to play for a conference championship, and then, in March Madness.

At this point, it’s a very tough task, but teams have done it before. The NCAA published a list of conference champions who struggled throughout the regular season.

Anthony Ortiz, Reporter

After suffering their sixth straight loss to the South Florida Bulls (18-8, 10-3 AC), the Florida Atlantic Owls (14-12, 6-7 AC) have dropped to 10th in the American with just four games remaining in the season.

The Owls have had their fair share of opportunities to win some of the games during this six-game skid, but they didn’t capitalize on any of them. To touch on the close losses once again, the Owls’ losses against East Carolina (9-16, 4-8 AC), Tulsa (20-6, 8-5 AC), and USF came by an average of 1.6 points per game. FAU is failing at late-game execution.

There were also games against Rice (11-15, 5-8 AC) and Memphis (12-13, 7-5 AC), where FAU just didn’t play to the level they were earlier in the season.

According to Sports Reference, the Owls in their first 21 games of the season had a positive net rating of +9.6, outrebounded opponents by 6.7 rebounds a game, shot 47.4% from the field, and 34.3% from three. In conference play, they posted ratings of 111.1 and 95.5, respectively, and went 6-1.

The Owls were the hottest team in the American, beating teams like UAB (16-10, 7-6 AC), Wichita State (16-10, 8-5 AC), and Temple (15-10, 7-5 AC). However, FAU started beating themselves.

During the six-game skid, FAU is allowing 83.2 points per game and scoring 74.2 points per game, a negative net rating of -9. The battle for the boards tightened, where FAU only had a +2.7 advantage. The team is shooting 42.7% from the field and 29% from three. Also, the Owls have gone down to a 99.5 offensive rating and sit at a 111.6 defensive rating.

A starter for the 25 games this season, forward Xander Pintelon has struggled to find a rhythm. Before the losing streak, he was shooting 38.3% from three; during the losing streak, he is shooting 11.1%. Pintelon came off the bench against USF Josiah Parker replaced him in the starting lineup.

If we were to take a look at the positives in the struggle, forward Josiah Parker has been a huge one. During the losing streak, Parker is averaging 16.3 points, nine rebounds, and 53.7% from the field.

Aforementioned guard Kanaan Carlyle is back after missing three of the last four games due to a calf injury. Before re-aggravating his calf injury on Feb. 1 vs. East Carolina, Carlyle averaged 14.7 points per game and started in 18 of 19 games for the Owls.

While they’re still alive, if the Owls can’t figure things out fast, they could see themselves on the outside looking in come March.

FAU will be back in action, looking to snap its losing streak tonight at 8 p.m. against the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners (5-20, 1-12 AC) at the Convocation Center in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information regarding this and other stories, reach out to the writers via email: Mikai at [email protected] and Anthony at [email protected].