Florida State’s season may have ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Seminoles enjoyed their best effort on the hardwood since the 2011-12 campaign.
In the meantime, Florida State found itself in the Associated Press’ top 100 all-time poll at No. 64. While that doesn’t seem great, it is worth noting that’s how many teams play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament each year and this past season was the first time in five years that the Seminoles did that.
In 69 seasons as a program, Florida State has reached the NCAA Tournament 15 times. Its only Final Four appearance came in 1972 as FSU reached the national championship before being defeated by powerhouse UCLA, 81-76.
The AP’s formula however, isn’t based primarily on postseason performance. The criteria is listed:
The Associated Press has been ranking the best teams in college basketball since January 1949. Over 68 years and more than 1,100 polls, a total of 200 schools have been ranked and 59 of them have been ranked No. 1 (Saint Louis was the first No. 1).
To determine the all-time Top 100, the AP formula counted poll appearances (one point each) to mark consistency and No. 1 rankings (two points each) to acknowledge elite programs. Keep in mind that AP doesn’t release a poll after the NCAA Tournament, so eventual national champions are not factored into these rankings. Instead, this list focuses more on those programs that consistently appear in the poll and/or at the top during the regular seasons.
The poll started with 20 teams ranked each week until it was reduced to just the Top 10 midway through the 1960-1961 season. It then returned to a Top 20 format for the 1968-69 season. The poll expanded to 25 teams starting with the 1989-1990 and it has remained that size since then. The first preseason poll was introduced at the start of the 1961-1962 season.
The highest that Florida State has ever been ranked in the AP Poll was second to start the 1972-73 season. This past season, FSU peaked at No. 6 in the AP Poll. It was the Seminoles’ highest national ranking since being ranked sixth in February 1993.
Kentucky topped the all-time poll, followed by North Carolina, Duke, UCLA and Kansas. Two other current ACC schools sneaked into the top 10 with Louisville appearing at No. 7 and Syracuse at No. 9. Rival Florida appeared at No. 27 while Miami was 87th. Jacksonville and Ole Miss rounded out the poll at No. 100.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
Phil Kelly/FSU athletics
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