Final Four Run Put FAU 'On the Map,' Nick Boyd Says After Buzzer-Beating Loss to SDSU

After a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer against San Diego State in the Final Four on Saturday, FAU guard Nick Boyd and his teammates had nothing to hang their heads about.

Despite the loss, the Owls completed one of the most historic and extraordinary runs in recent NCAA tournament memory.

Every basket, rebound and victory became a piece of program history, going from never winning a tournament game to being a possession away from going to the national championship against UConn.

And Boyd, one of the catalysts of his team's run, kept that perspective during the postgame press conference.

"It's a bittersweet moment," Boyd said. "I'm not dwelling on it much. I'm ready to get back to work. I'm happy for our team. I mean, we put FAU on the map. That's most important to me. When I came to this school and I committed here, I said this is what we're going to do. And we took it to a new height. All I can do is smile and be appreciative of the run we went on."

The good news for the Owls is that it doesn't look like a whole lot is gonna change with their team going into next season as they make the move from Conference USA to the AAC, where they'll see a bit higher level of competition.

Aside from senior Michael Forrest, the majority of FAU's biggest contributors—namely Boyd, Johnell Davis, Alijah Martin, Vladislav Goldin and Giancarlo Rosado—are all sophomores or younger.

Another big boost for the program is that coach Dusty May, who had the type of run that usually leads to a shiny, new job, is actually getting a shiny, new, long-term deal to stay in South Florida and continue to lead this new era of Owls basketball.

May led his team to 35 wins, a program record, at one point winning 20 consecutive games en route to a C-USA regular-season and tournament title ahead of their magical run to close out the year.

FAU is certainly on the map, and it may not be going anywhere anytime soon.