Florida State Grabs No. 9 Seed in NCAA Tournament; Will Play Missouri First Round

Despite a disappointing second round loss to the Louisville Cardinals in the ACC Tournament, Florida State basketball (20-11, 9-9 ACC) showed enough in the regular season to make the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles earned a No. 9 seed in the West region on Selection Sunday and are slated to play the Missouri Tiger on Friday, March 16.

Florida State makes the national tournament for the second year in a row and the sixth time in the past 10 years. For head coach Leonard Hamilton, it’s the ninth tournament appearance of his career. Florida State finished around where it was projected to at the beginning of the season when many sites pegged the Seminoles as a bubble team.

It wasn’t the easiest path for the Seminoles, who sustained late-season losses that put their chances in jeopardy. Earlier regular season victories over highly-regarded teams such as North Carolina and Florida proved to be the quality wins that impressed the committee.

The Missouri Tigers finished the regular season with an overall record of 20-11 and a 10-8 record in the SEC. They pose an interesting match-up, since their biggest star Michael Porter Jr. was injured for all but two games in the regular season. They boast solid ratings in Kenpom, including the 47th-ranked defense.

The round of 64 match-up will be played in Nashville, Tennessee.  The victor will go on to play the winner of Xavier and N.C. Central or Texas Southern.