FSU Hoops: Revisiting Sweet 16s Past

Few would have predicted it coming into this year’s NCAA Tournament, but a No. 16 seed finally beat a No. 1 and Florida State is in the round of 16.

The Seminoles notched their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2011 and just their fifth ever on Sunday night with a thrilling 75-70 win over Xavier, the top seed in the West Region. FSU closed the contest on an 18-4 run and will now face fourth-seeded Gonzaga in Los Angeles.

As we get set to watch the Bulldogs and Seminoles square off for the first time since the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, here’s a brief look at FSU’s history in the Sweet 16:

FSU 70, Minnesota 56
March 16, 1972
Mideast Region in Dayton, Ohio
The second ever trip for Florida State to the NCAA Tournament resulted in a trip to the national championship game. The Sweet 16 match-up pitted the Seminoles against Minnesota in Dayton. Rowland Garrett stole the show for FSU, leading five Seminoles in double-figures by finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds. A stifling FSU defense held the Golden Gophers to just 33 percent shooting from the field. Clyde Turner led Minnesota with 19 points.

(3) FSU 74, (2) Indiana 85
March 26, 1992
West Region in Albuquerque, New Mexico
FSU’s first Sweet 16 appearance in 20 years wasn’t as sweet as the first time around as the Seminoles fell to Indiana in the West Region semifinal. A 3-pointer by Byron Wells late in the first half had FSU within two at the break, 40-38, but the Hoosiers asserted their will in the second half. Eric Anderson scored a game-high 24 points to lead Indiana, which shot 50 percent from the field. The Seminoles shot 51 percent in the first half, but cooled down significantly in the second, to finish at 45 percent for the game. Doug Edwards finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead FSU. Indiana’s Greg Graham and Florida State’s Sam Cassell each added 19 points.

(3) FSU 81, (7) Western Kentucky 78 (Overtime)
March 25, 1993
Southeast Region in Charlotte, North Carolina
After falling to Indiana in the Sweet 16 the previous year, Florida State managed to advance to its first Elite Eight in 21 years with a thrilling overtime victory over Western Kentucky. The Seminoles and Hilltoppers were tied at halftime and at the end of the second half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Sam Cassell and Bob Sura gave FSU a 4-point lead in the extra period. After the Hilltoppers turned the ball over down two with 7.5 seconds to play, Cypheus Bunton’s attempt to force a second overtime went awry and the Seminoles prevailed. Doug Edwards finished with 19 points to lead FSU while Rodney Dobard added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Western Kentucky’s Darnell Mee led all scorers with 21 points.

(10) FSU 71, (11) Virginia Commonwealth 72 (Overtime)
March 25, 2011
Southwest Region in San Antonio, Texas
Virginia Commonwealth’s 2011 run from the First Four to the Final Four had a few close calls, but the closest was an overtime victory over the Seminoles. FSU trailed 65-62 in the final minute of the second half before a 3-pointer by Chris Singleton knotted things up. Singleton looked as though he may be the hero in the extra period after his basket gave the Seminoles a 71-70 lead with 30 seconds to play. The Rams however, had an answer as Bradford Burgess slipped inside for the game-winner for VCU with less than eight seconds remaining. Singleton’s shot at the other end, which may have came after the buzzer, was blocked. Burgess led all scorers with 26 points. Derwin Kitchen finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Seminoles.

Observations

Thursday’s contest with fourth-seeded Gonzaga will mark the fifth Sweet 16 appearance for FSU in a fifth different location. It is the Seminoles’ second Sweet 16 appearance in the West Region.

Florida State is 2-2 all-time in the Sweet 16. Each of its last two appearances have gone into overtime. This will be the third straight time that the Seminoles take on a team from a non-major conference.

As the No. 9 seed, this will be the second-lowest seed that FSU has been for a Sweet 16 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. This Seminoles were the higher seed on two of the previous three occasions. They’re 0-1 as the lower seed.

Head coach Leonard Hamilton joins Pat Kennedy as the only FSU coaches to take the Seminoles past the first weekend on two separate occasions. Kennedy took the Seminoles to the Sweet 16 in 1992 and Elite Eight in 1993.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson