Florida State took part in the Elite Eight on Saturday night. Although the Seminoles were unable to come out victorious in a 58-54 loss to Michigan, it marked a significant milestone for the program.
It was the first time that the Seminoles participated in a regional final in a quarter century. What they did to get there however, happened on this day 25 years ago.
The Seminoles, who were seeded third in the Southeast Region, were coming off wins over Evansville and a 31-point beatdown of Tulane. Seventh-seeded Western Kentucky was the No. 7 seed and coming off an upset of No. 2 seed Seton Hall as the teams arrived in Charlotte for the Sweet 16 contest on March 25, 1993.
Despite FSU being the higher seed, the teams couldn’t have been more even most of the day. Florida State raced to a 26-15 lead early, but by the break, the contest was knotted at 40 apiece.
In the second half, defense intensified and FSU couldn’t convert on free throws as it shot just 18-for-38 for the day. The teams each scored just 29 points in the extra period and the contest went to overtime, tied at 69-69.
Doug Edwards, who paced FSU with 19 points while grabbing nine rebounds, scored the first basket in the extra period before 3-pointers by Bob Sura and Sam Cassell pushed the lead to four. With FSU clinging to an 80-78 lead in the final seconds, the Hilltoppers had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but freshman Michael Fraliex’s errant pass went out of bounds and the Seminoles took over.
Derrick Carroll split a pair of free throws to leave the door open with time ticking away. Western Kentucky’s Darnell Mee led all scorers with 21 points, but was unavailable after fouling out late. Cypheus Bunton’s desperation heave touched all parts of the rim as time expired, but went awry as the Seminoles prevailed, 81-78, to clinch their first Elite Eight appearance in 21 years.
Sura finished with 17 points in the win while Rodney Dobard added 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Cassell scored 12 points in the victory. Darrin Horn added 17 points for the Hilltoppers on 7-for-14 shooting while Mark Bell scored 15 points in the loss before fouling out.
FSU would go on to lose in the Elite Eight to a more prominent team from the Bluegrass State in Kentucky, 106-81. Saturday night marked the first time that Florida State returned to the regional final since that loss to the Wildcats. The win that got the Seminoles there took place on this day 25 years ago.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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