The 2023 NCAA Tournament gave college basketball fans the tournament they have been asking for: complete and utter chaos. Only two top seeds made it to the Sweet 16, where they ended up getting knocked out. Due to the upsets, the relatively unknown ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic basketball team made headlines. They made it all the way to the Final Four before falling to fifth-seeded San Diego State on a Lamont Butler buzzer-beater.

This year, FAU basketball came into the season ranked 10th in the country. At the halfway point of the season, it's time to come to grips with the fact that Florida Atlantic has no business being ranked.

Photo byBrad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

FAU is Lucky and Overranked

The reason FAU came into last year's tournament as an unknown team is that they were a "nobody." They came into the 2022-23 season unranked and, while they only lost three times all year, they came at the hands of unranked Ole Miss, UAB and Middle Tennessee. The Owls didn't even play a single ranked team the entire season.

Thanks to their Conference USA Tournament win (with wins over Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee by three, and UAB), they received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the very first round, FAU was on the brink of elimination before an extremely questionable no-call from the officials gave FAU basketball a chance, which they took in a 66-65 win over No. 24 Memphis.

After being gifted the win thanks to a free possession from the refs, they caught another break. No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson upset top-seeded Purdue after winning their First Four play-in game. FAU stumbled to an eight-point win before facing No. 20 Tennessee in the Sweet 16. To be fair to the Owls, they were the better team, beating Tennessee by seven to go to the Elite Eight. In the Elite Eight, they faced off against No. 15 Kansas State, who they outlasted by three. FAU committed 22 turnovers, but Kansas State's troubles at the free throw line (12/18) gifted them another win.

For those keeping track, FAU beat Memphis thanks to a missed call, beat a 16-seed, No. 20 Tennessee, and barely scraped by No. 15 Kansas State to reach the Final Four. There, they fell to No. 18 San Diego State. Naturally, because of their incredible luck, and two wins against teams in the top 20, voters felt the need to put this team at No. 10 coming into this season.

More of the Same For Florida Atlantic's 2024 Basketball Team

Florida Atlantic has exactly one win against a ranked opponent, with a 96-95 win over No. 8 Arizona. It's a notable win, but their losses are just as notable: unranked Bryant by nine, Florida Gulf Coast by four and Charlotte by two. Be honest, how many of you even knew Charlotte had a basketball team before I just mentioned them?

I have nothing against Florida Atlantic. Guard Johnell Davis is one of the best scorers in the country, and the team is one of the best mid-majors in college basketball. At the end of the day though, that's all they are — a really good mid-major team. They aren't good enough to be ranked, and continuing to give them such undeserved praise for one lucky four-game run is incredibly unfair to them.

Who even knows, maybe when we finally judge them fairly, they will feel less pressure and shock the world. Until then, it's time to call them what they are: another flash in the pan that is nothing more than a cool story.