Florida State has now advanced in each of its last four NCAA Tournament appearances. The ninth-seeded Seminoles handled Missouri, the No. 8 seed in the West Region, in Nashville late Friday night, 67-54.
After falling behind 7-1 early, FSU (21-11) responded with 11 straight points and never trailed again. Florida State wound up closing the half on a 41-13 run to take a 42-20 lead at the break.
Missouri (20-13) came out strong in the second half, opening on a 24-8 run to whittle the deficit down to six. The Seminoles responded with 13 straight points en route to cruising to the victory.
Mfiondu Kabengele finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead FSU. P.J. Savoy chipped in with 12 points and Phil Cofer added 11 in the win. Leading scorer and rebounder Terance Mann did leave the game after slipping to the floor in the second half and did not return.
The 67 points tied for the fewest in any FSU victory this season, but the story for the Seminoles was the defense. They held Missouri to its second-lowest scoring total of the season and to less than 33 percent from the field while forcing 16 turnovers. FSU shot just 43 percent from the field on the other end, but had a good night from deep, going 7-for-15 from beyond the arc.
Kassius Robertson finished with 19 points to lead the Tigers and was 6-for-10 from distance. The rest of the team was just 2 for 14. Michael Porter, Jr., a freshman forward, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in his third and probably last collegiate game.
With the win, the Seminoles will move on to face top-seeded Xavier on Sunday in the second round. The Musketeers beat Texas Southern, 102-83, on Friday night to advance.
It was Xavier that ended FSU’s season a year ago with an emphatic 91-66 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando. With a win, FSU would reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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