It’s a football school with basketball games between football season and spring practice. No matter how successful Florida State basketball gets — it reached the Sweet 16 last year — the school’s athletic heartbeat still races more in the fall.
That may change this season. The Seminoles (24-9) turned Tobacco Road into Heartbreak Highway, beating Duke and North Carolina on their way to winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament for the first time.
“I’m sure as time goes on, maybe it will sink in and maybe there is validation out there that I’m really not thinking about,” Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said after Sunday’s 85-82 victory over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament title game in Atlanta.
This didn’t appear to be the season the Seminoles would move up a notch. They lost to Harvard and Princeton (the latter in three overtimes) — and to Clemson in the ACC opener by 20 points. But since starting 9-6, the Seminoles have gone 15-3. Those wins include buzzer-beating 3-pointers by Michael Snaer over Duke and Virginia Tech and by Ian Miller at Virginia.
Favorite: Syracuse
What does it say about the Orange’s season when it loses in the Big East Tournament semifinals and still receives a No. 1 seed? Besides Friday’s loss to Cincinnati, the Orange’s only other loss came Jan. 21 at Notre Dame.
Coach Jim Boeheim is in his 35th year, and his zone defense still baffles opponents. The Orange (31-2) ranks eighth nationally in shooting defense (.385) and third in steals (9.6 a game).
Sleeper: Vanderbilt
Forget that the Commodores have a ton of momentum from knocking off top-ranked Kentucky in the SEC Tournament championship game Sunday. They average almost nine 3-pointers per game on 39 percent shooting, the exact formula needed to beat Syracuse’s zone if they meet in the Sweet 16. However, Vanderbilt lost to Richmond and Murray State in the first round of the last two NCAA Tournaments.
Upset alert
Texas over Cincinnati. Texas coach Rick Barnes has been bashed for underachieving in the NCAA Tournament with future NBA players. Now he has a more cohesive unit led by freshman point guard Myck Kabongo. With him and backcourt mate J’Covan Brown (20.1 ppg) they might be able to take advantage of an overachieving Bearcats team.
Bracket breakdown
The East Regional has two teams with monumental momentum: Vanderbilt, Florida State. If that confidence carries over, Syracuse will have a tough road to New Orleans. Ohio State’s loss Sunday dropped it to a No. 2 seed, meaning it might play its second game vs. West Virginia in Pittsburgh, almost West Virginia’s backyard.
