Season in Review

Florida State

23-11 (11-5 ACC)

If you are Florida State fan you have to be pretty happy with how this past season went. For years Florida State had a tough time breaking through that NCAA Tournament barrier: they went 8-8 or so every year and just missed out. Then, they started making it to the tournament but couldn't win a game. This year, though, they were able to win two games, and made it to the Sweet 16. You have to give Leonard Hamilton a lot of credit for the job he did. They were without their best player, Chris Singleton, for much of the ACC season, but held it together very well.

It wasn't the smoothest of runs for FSU. They lost two big home games in a row in November, then lost a stretch of 3 out of 4 at the start of the ACC season. But a win over #1 Duke catapulted them to 5 wins in 6 games. The only home game they lost in conference was to UNC, and they went a respectable 4-4 in the ACC on the road. When Singleton was out, players like Bernard James and Derwin Kitchen really picked up the slack. It was really a team effort, with only Singleton averaging more than 11 points per game.

Biggest Win:

57-50 vs. Texas A&M on 3/18 (NCAA Tournament)

This was the win that got FSU over the hump of not having won a game in the NCAA Tournament. They were coming off a heartbreaking loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament and not much was expected of them in the Big Dance. But the Seminoles responded, even without a healthy Singleton, and this win propelled them to an upset win over Notre Dame.

Worst Loss:

65-60 at Auburn on 1/3

Florida State got a lot of grief for this loss to a really terrible Auburn team. There's not much to say about this one except that the Seminoles shot 35% against a team that went 11-20 this year.

Postseason Play:

The postseason was a mixed bag for FSU. They lost in crazy fashion in the quarterfinal of the ACC Tournament, on a basket by Kitchen that was disallowed at the buzzer against Virginia Tech. Rather than letting that ruin their season, though, the team responded. As a 10 seed, they beat Texas A&M by 7 and Notre Dame by 14. In the Sweet 16, bad possessions at the end of regulation and overtime doomed the Seminoles to a one point loss against VCU.

Looking Ahead:

The question about Florida State now is whether they will be able to sustain success. They have turned into the third best school in the ACC behind North Carolina and Duke, and will be looking to make their fourth straight NCAA berth. They obviously suffer a big loss with Singleton leaving early for the NBA. Kitchen, the second leading scorer, leaves as well. But the only other seniors on the squad never played. They should be quite good with Michael Snaer running the show in the backcourt, and James and Xavier Gibson in the frontcourt. The team's strength will continue to be defense, and if they can develop some consistent 3-point shooters they can make another Sweet 16 run.