Florida State Seminoles: 25-8, 12-6 in the ACC
Head coach: Leonard Hamilton (15th season)
Players to watch: Dwayne Bacon (16.9 PPG); Jonathan Isaac (11.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG); Xavier Rathan-Mayes (10.4 PPG, 4.8 APG)
Season recap: Just a season after finishing tied for 11th in the ACC, the Seminoles rode stellar play from sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon and a deep supporting cast surrounding him to vault to the No. 2 spot. Even after losing four players and freshman phenom Malik Beasley to the NBA last season, Florida State employed a 12-man rotation that kept the team fresh and helped it pick up seven wins against ranked teams. Although just three players finished the regular season averaging more than 10 points per game, no Seminole averages more than 30 minutes per contest.
Florida State started the season hot, opening the year 18-2 to establish itself as a potential Final Four team. The physical Seminoles closed that run by going 5-1 in a brutal six-game stretch against ranked ACC foes that many thought would derail the team. Instead, Florida State rose to the occasion, knocking off Virginia, Duke and Louisville to establish itself as a true league contender.
But after that stretch, the Seminoles struggled to sustain their level of play away from home, dropping consecutive road contests against Georgia Tech and Syracuse before closing the season by winning just six of their last 11 games. A win March 4 against Miami was enough to earn Florida State a double bye in the ACC tournament. The Seminoles advanced to the tournament semifinals and almost overcame an 18-point deficit against third-seeded Notre Dame, but ultimately dropped the contest 77-73.
If Bacon and junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes can knock down some perimeter shots in crunch time, head coach Leonard Hamilton’s team could make a deep run in March.
How they make a run: Florida State finally plays well away from home, with Rathan-Mayes shredding defenses in pick-and-roll situations and Bacon hunting his shot—the guard has made 57 3-pointers so far this year—to put the Seminoles in the national spotlight.
How they falter: Seminole freshman star Jonathan Isaac does not get enough touches because of Hamilton's frequent substitutions, and Florida State's inconsistent outside shooting leads to an early-round upset.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.