Bracketology: FSU Bound for Jacksonville?

Despite a 65-52 loss at No. 4 Virginia on Saturday in a contest that was not as close as the final score indicated, Florida State still seems to be in a favorable spot among experts or as they’ve come to be know, bracketologists.

The Seminoles sit at 12-2 on the season with an RPI of 10 and a Ken Pomeroy ranking in the top 20. FSU hosts Miami and No. 1 Duke this week.

Projections
ESPN: West Region No. 3 vs. (14) Radford in Jacksonville (Jan. 4)
CBS Sports: Midwest Region No. 4 vs. UC-Irvine in San Jose (Jan. 9)
SB Nation: South Region No. 3 vs. (14) Lehigh in Jacksonville (Jan. 8)
NBC Sports: South Region No. 3 vs. (14) Vermont in Jacksonville (Jan. 3)

Summary
Three of the four experts surveyed currently have FSU as a No. 3, although two of those came before FSU’s loss at Virginia. All three of those place the Seminoles in Jacksonville. FSU was a No. 3 seed two years ago before falling to 11th-seeded Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm was the dissenter, placing Florida State in San Jose as the No. 4 seed to face UC-Irvine. FSU won the only previous meeting in January 1971, 82-69. The Anteaters are projected as Big West champions.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi pits third-seeded FSU against No. 14 seed Radford, the projected champion of the Big South. The Seminoles defeated the Highlanders 79-59 in December 1995 — the only prior meeting.

SB Nation’s Chris Dobbertean pits FSU, the third seed in the South, against No. 14 seed Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks are projected champions of the Patriot League and famously knocked off second-seeded Duke in 2012. They’ve never met FSU.

NBC Sports’ Dave Ommen has the No. 3 seed Seminoles facing No. 14 seed and projected American East champion Vermont. FSU won 76-67 in the Vermont Classic in the only prior meeting on Dec. 30, 1976.

Of the four projections listed, Dobbertean and Ommen are the only ones to put FSU in the same region and that’s the South. FSU plays Miami, who appears in no brackets, on Wednesday and No. 1 Duke on Saturday. Duke is a current No. 1 seed, according to everyone except Palm. Palm has the Blue Devils as a No. 2.

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