Florida State KOs top seed

Florida State senior Phil Cofer knows the biggest key to making any comeback, especially in the NCAA tournament. Don’t get rattled. Now the Florida State Seminoles are on their way to the round of 16 for the first time since 2011 after upsetting top-seeded Xavier with a furious rally at Pittsburgh.

PJ Savoy made a threepointer with 1:08 left to give Florida State its first lead of the second half, and the Seminoles rallied from a 12point deficit to beat the Musketeers 75-70 on Sunday night in the second round of the West Regional.

“Everybody kept their composure, and that’s what you got to do in March Madness,” Cofer said. “And I think we did it.”

The Seminoles did just that when trailing by 12 with 10:42 left and outscored Xavier 31-14 down the stretch.

“We were much better than Xavier in the last 21⁄2 minutes of the game,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Sometimes when the games are close, that’s all that’s important.”

It’s a painful ending for a team that returned four starters from a team that lost in the Elite Eight last year — to Gonzaga, the team Florida State will play Thursday in Los Angeles.

Texas A&M 86, North Carolina 65: Texas A&M had its big men relentlessly snatching down loose rebounds, its wing players knocking down shots and an entire roster full of guys playing with aggressive confidence at Charlotte, N.C.

Stunningly, reigning national champion North Carolina found no match for any of it. And just as shockingly, the second-seeded Tar Heels were eliminated with their most lopsided NCAA tournament loss of Roy Williams’ career.

“It’s the most inadequate feeling I’ve ever felt,” Williams said. “I feel it all the time, last game of the year, but I think I felt it more today than any other time. I’m not ashamed to say I love these kids.”

The seventh-seeded Aggies manhandled the Tar Heels, marking the second straight year the titleholder has been bounced before the Sweet 16. They dominated the glass and used their size to control the paint and block shots.

“We had a certain togetherness today,” said Tyler Davis, who had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies. “We didn’t have the fastest start, but we were together the whole time.”