Noles head for NCAA Tournament
Strength of quality wins outweighs spate of late-season defeats.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, and the Seminoles made history in the process. With back-to-back tournament appearances, they have made the Big Dance in six of the last 10 seasons, the best 10-year stretch in school history.
Florida State is the No. 9 seed in the West Region and will play No. 8 Missouri (20-12) on Friday in Nashville (9:50 p.m., truTV).
As most experts predicted, the strength of the Seminoles’ quality wins apparently outweighed any concerns about late-season losses. FSU dropped three of its last four games, including a firstround exit at last week’s ACC Tournament, but coach Leonard Hamilton’s team did enough through the course of the season to make the field.
The Tigers, who averaged 73.3 points per game, will be without their second-leading scorer, Jordan Barnett. The forward, who averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, was arrested Saturday for suspicion of driving while intoxicated and coach Cuonzo Martin said Sunday that he is suspended and will not play Friday, although he will travel with the team and practice in Nashville.
FSU recorded important home wins against highly rated North Carolina, Clemson and Miami, and the Seminoles also recorded significant road wins at Florida and Louisville. The Seminoles only lost one game to a team ranked outside the Top 100 in terms of RPI (Wake Forest).
FSU enters the postseason with a 20-11 record, but went 4-6 in its final 10 games.