Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:26:25 +0000

With a first round (well, first game) loss in the ACC tournament to an inferior conference foe, the Florida State Seminoles did little to help themselves in the eyes of the selection committee. And, the seed that was assigned reflected it.

FSU will return to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season as expected, but the road to make any noise is daunting. The Seminoles are a 9-seed and will face the #18 ranked, 8-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in Buffalo, New York on Friday night. Should the Noles prevail in that game . . . it would be their first NCAA tournament win since March 13, 1998 . . . and they would surely face the #4 ranked, 1-seed Syracuse Orange in their own backyard in round two.

If the Seminoles are intimidated by the task, they are not showing it. And, why should they be intimidated? The Noles have one of the best defenses in the nation and that alone will keep them in any game . . . as it has all year. If they can get hot on offense, and we have seen glimpses of that this season, FSU can do some damage and bust a lot of brackets.

Against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Friday night, the Noles were far from hot and even farther from efficient. Florida State committed 20 turnovers and only dished out 8 assists on 20 made buckets. They made only 20 of 52 shots (38.5%), and a putrid 3 of 18 from three point distance. Free throw shooting was also lousy . . . 9 of 17.

FSU led at halftime by a score of 28-25, but fell completely flat in the second half. They committed costly turnover after costly turnover in the game’s crucial situations. Though they had 9 steals and 7 blocked shots, FSU’s defense lapsed at times, and again allowed freshman guard Scott Wood to light it up from three-point territory. Wood followed his 31-point performance (7 of 11 three-pointers) on January 12, 2010, with an 18-point night on Friday. All ten of his shots against FSU in the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament were from behind the arch, and he dropped 6 of them.

The bright spots in losing their only game in the ACC tournament are that the Seminoles are well-rested and extra-motivated to redeem themselves in the NCAA tournament. However, both Gonzaga and Syracuse have also lost their most recent game in their respective conference tournaments and will have similar motivations.

FSU has fared well this season in must-win situations. The Seminoles finished the regular season by winning 5 of their last 6 games to earn the 3-seed in the ACC tournament. The Noles have only lost back-to-back games twice in the last two years. The first was the ACC Championship game and first round of the NCAA tournamnet in 2008-09, and the second was a Sunday-Tuesday quick-turnaround set at Maryland and then in Tallahassee against Wood and the Wolfpack.

The Seminoles will try to avoid a repeat 1st round NCAA exit by defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Friday at 7:10. Similar to FSU, Gonzaga returns several players with NCAA tournament experience. The difference is that the Gonzaga players won two games in last year’s tournament.

The Bulldogs loss in the West Coast Conference championship game dropped them in the seeding, similar to the fate of the Seminoles. Both teams are probably good enough for a 7, or even a 6-seed . . . and likely would have been had they performed up to their potential in their conference tournament. Instead, they will do battle in the 8-9 game with the winner to face powerful Syracuse.

The Zags are often crowd-favorites, playing to the role of Cinderella. I suspect that the Orange crowd — who will buy the majority of the tickets in the Buffalo regional — with no clear-cut favorite in this game, will probably choose the side of the team from Spokane, Washington for their rooting interest. This will not bother the FSU players, who were an impressive 5-3 on the road in the difficult arenas of the ACC.

The Florida State women’s team also received an invitation to the NCAA tournament. They landed as a #3 seed and will also face the Bulldogs . . . the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs . . . in Tallahassee on Saturday afternoon. A win, and the Noles will take on either St. John’s or Princeton on Monday night. If FSU lasts until the final 8, and barring an upset of historic magnitude . . . the Seminoles will rematch the Connecticut Huskies with a trip to the final four at stake.

With a first round (well, first game) loss in the ACC tournament to an inferior conference foe, the Florida State Seminoles did little to help themselves in the eyes of the selection committee. And, the seed that was assigned reflected it.

FSU will return to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season as expected, but the road to make any noise is daunting. The Seminoles are a 9-seed and will face the #18 ranked, 8-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in Buffalo, New York on Friday night. Should the Noles prevail in that game . . . it would be their first NCAA tournament win since March 13, 1998 . . . and they would surely face the #4 ranked, 1-seed Syracuse Orange in their own backyard in round two.

If the Seminoles are intimidated by the task, they are not showing it. And, why should they be intimidated? The Noles have one of the best defenses in the nation and that alone will keep them in any game . . . as it has all year. If they can get hot on offense, and we have seen glimpses of that this season, FSU can do some damage and bust a lot of brackets.

Against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Friday night, the Noles were far from hot and even farther from efficient. Florida State committed 20 turnovers and only dished out 8 assists on 20 made buckets. They made only 20 of 52 shots (38.5%), and a putrid 3 of 18 from three point distance. Free throw shooting was also lousy . . . 9 of 17.

FSU led at halftime by a score of 28-25, but fell completely flat in the second half. They committed costly turnover after costly turnover in the game’s crucial situations. Though they had 9 steals and 7 blocked shots, FSU’s defense lapsed at times, and again allowed freshman guard Scott Wood to light it up from three-point territory. Wood followed his 31-point performance (7 of 11 three-pointers) on January 12, 2010, with an 18-point night on Friday. All ten of his shots against FSU in the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament were from behind the arch, and he dropped 6 of them.

The bright spots in losing their only game in the ACC tournament are that the Seminoles are well-rested and extra-motivated to redeem themselves in the NCAA tournament. However, both Gonzaga and Syracuse have also lost their most recent game in their respective conference tournaments and will have similar motivations.

FSU has fared well this season in must-win situations. The Seminoles finished the regular season by winning 5 of their last 6 games to earn the 3-seed in the ACC tournament. The Noles have only lost back-to-back games twice in the last two years. The first was the ACC Championship game and first round of the NCAA tournamnet in 2008-09, and the second was a Sunday-Tuesday quick-turnaround set at Maryland and then in Tallahassee against Wood and the Wolfpack.

The Seminoles will try to avoid a repeat 1st round NCAA exit by defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Friday at 7:10. Similar to FSU, Gonzaga returns several players with NCAA tournament experience. The difference is that the Gonzaga players won two games in last year’s tournament.

The Bulldogs loss in the West Coast Conference championship game dropped them in the seeding, similar to the fate of the Seminoles. Both teams are probably good enough for a 7, or even a 6-seed . . . and likely would have been had they performed up to their potential in their conference tournament. Instead, they will do battle in the 8-9 game with the winner to face powerful Syracuse.

The Zags are often crowd-favorites, playing to the role of Cinderella. I suspect that the Orange crowd — who will buy the majority of the tickets in the Buffalo regional — with no clear-cut favorite in this game, will probably choose the side of the team from Spokane, Washington for their rooting interest. This will not bother the FSU players, who were an impressive 5-3 on the road in the difficult arenas of the ACC.

The Florida State women’s team also received an invitation to the NCAA tournament. They landed as a #3 seed and will also face the Bulldogs . . . the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs . . . in Tallahassee on Saturday afternoon. A win, and the Noles will take on either St. John’s or Princeton on Monday night. If FSU lasts until the final 8, and barring an upset of historic magnitude . . . the Seminoles will rematch the Connecticut Huskies with a trip to the final four at stake.