FSU basketball falls again in NCAA Tournament projections

Grabbing a road win is no easy feat in the ACC, and no one was more aware of this than Florida State coming into Wednesday night’s match-up against Wake Forest. The Seminoles held a 1-3 record in conference road games, while Wake Forest was coming off of a seven-game losing streak. The Demon Deacons were hungry for a win, and the ’Noles were punished for sloppy play in their 76-72 road loss.

To be expected, FSU dropped from an 8-seed to a 9-seed in the latest bracketology of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. The inability to capitalize on an important road-win opportunity has Florida State now projected to play against 8-seed Butler in Detroit, for the opening round of the tournament’s Midwest region. Pending a victory, the Seminoles would then take on powerhouse 1-seed Purdue, which would certainly prove a difficult contest.

Likewise, TeamRankings.com predicts that the ’Noles will make the tournament as a 9-seed. After giving Florida State an 80.5% chance of drawing a tournament selection prior to its Wake Forest game, that number is now down to 67.5%. The site also gives FSU a 15.8% chance to make the Sweet 16, and a narrow 2.6% chance of making the Final Four.

On the other hand, BracketMatrix.com has a more optimistic outlook for the Seminoles, where they sit as a 7-seed and are included in all 106 brackets surveyed.