Photos from 247Sports and Palm Beach Post
Obviously, you knew I had to write an article on FSU before the NCAA tournament kicks off. If you know me, you know how hard I ride with FSU basketball, never missing a second of a game. If you have been the same way, you know about the ups of the season, you know about the downs of the season, but where will this all lead? How will we end? These past two weeks have been difficult, and a bit out of the usual for our Florida State Seminoles as we passed the chance on hanging two new banners in The Tuck. After losing a 16-point lead to the University of North Carolina, and a shocking loss to Notre Dame we missed the chance of gaining our second consecutive ACC Regular Season Championship banner in our possession. Soon after, the ACC tournament approached where they redeemed themselves against UNC, but fell short to Georgia Tech in the Championship game, 80-75, turning the ball over an insane amount of 25 times. Yeah, you didn't read that wrong. I said 25 times. And there goes the ACC Tournament Championship banner. I was mad, I mean, like most people, I know FSU is the best team in the ACC. They know they are the best team in the ACC, what happened? The turnovers were horrendous, I mean offensively we were way more efficient than they were, we were shooting from over 50% from both the field and the perimeter, as they were 43.5% from the field and 21.7% from the perimeter. We just couldn't hold onto anything during this game, our defense was messy, we fouled too much, and got one steal the whole game as Georgia Tech acquired 15. So, yes that sucked, but our season isn't over yet, it is nowhere near over. With the first half of March being irritating, they can turn around and end March in an extraordinary way. The Seminoles flew straight from Greensboro to Indianapolis where they will face the UNC Greensboro Spartans to kick off the biggest tournament of the year. This is FSU’s game, and let me tell you what's gonna happen. The Spartans commit a lot of fouls, with strong free throw shooters such as RaiQuan Gray and MJ Walker, we will take it, as well as keep attacking to end up on the line multiple times. Florida State doesn't take a whole lot of threes, but when they do they will make them, unlike the Spartans who (no offense) are terrible perimeter shooting. If Florida State plays the way I know they can play, not only will we beat the Spartans but we can beat any team we want. I know what these boys are capable of, I have seen several times, with consistency and determination, FSU will be a big problem in this tournament. If the Seminoles make it to the Sweet 16, we would most likely be matched up against the top dogs in our conference, the #1 ranked Michigan. But like I said, if we play the way I know we can play, I am not worried. But, if we see a recurrence of our last game against Georgia Tech or Notre Dame, they shouldn't even bother showing up. Right now, after blowing two ACC championships in one season, and not living up to the expectations a majority of viewers had, there really aren't any expectations for them as they enter the NCAA tournament this upcoming weekend. All I know is leaders MJ Walker and RaiQuan Gray need to go in each and every game with an excessive amount of confidence and power, Anthony Polite and Malik Osborne will have to lock down the opponents with their top-notch defense, and Scottie Barnes will have to show up for his first and only NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles need to forget about the ACC tournament, the Notre Dame game, etc., and just regroup to show everyone who they are, who we are. So, my final thoughts as I wrap up this article, we got this, I have so much confidence in this team, because I know how much talent this team holds, I know how strong this teams chemistry is, and I know head coach Leonard Hamilton and the Florida State Basketball team aren't going down without a fight. Although I am nervous, I am so overly excited to see what FSU does in this tournament. And all I have left to say is, GO NOLES BABY!
