Florida State Seminoles
ACC (29-4, 14-2)
Florida State started the season a little under the radar, but has emerged as one of the best teams in all of college basketball thanks to multiple signature wins at home and a very balanced offensive attack. The Seminoles are one of those handful of non-number one seeds that are capable of getting to the Final Four if they get hot at the right time. They have proven that they can play with anyone in the nation when they are clicking on all cylinders at both ends of the court.
Big Wins: 1/11 Duke (74-58), 1/22 Louisville (68-63), 3/7 vs Louisville (66-51)
Bad Losses: 11/27 vs Washington (68-80), 1/2 at Notre Dame (68-74), 2/12 at North Carolina (63-71)
Coach: Sue Semrau
Why They Can Surprise:
The Seminoles are very balanced offensively, which makes it very difficult for opposing teams to focus on stopping just one player. Adut Bulgak down in the post has been very solid all season long and provides the threat of being able to step out and hit a key three-point shot when she needs to. Guard Leticia Romero made her mark with a triple double up at Boston College on February 22nd where she scored 19 points, collected 11 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists in one of the top individual performances of the season. The ability to step up and perform like in the postseason will allow Florida State to control the pace of games. Finally, just the confidence gained from performing so well in a tough ACC schedule will prepare the Seminoles nicely for a deep postseason run.
Why They Can Disappoint:
It is going to be critical for Florida State to convert at the foul line in the NCAA Tournament as that is something that they have struggled with during the 2014-2015 campaign. If the Seminoles can shoot at least 70 percent from the foul line in the NCAA Tournament, that will be a big plus for them. Another potential cause for disappoint will be if Florida State has an off night defensively and can’t close a team out like in the Notre Dame game earlier this season. The Seminoles led for 26 of the 40 minutes in South Bend, but could not finish off the Fighting Irish in a 74-68 loss back on January 2nd.
Probable Starters:
Brittany Brown, Sophomore, Guard, 6.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Leticia Romero, Sophomore, Guard, 10.3 ppg, 5.2 apg, 5.0 rpg
Meagan Conwright, Senior, Guard, 11.7 ppg, 3.3 apg
Ivey Slaughter, Sophomore, Forward, 11.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg
Adut Bulgak, Junior, Center, 12.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Morgan Jones, Junior, Guard, 6.8 ppg, 2.1 apg, 4.0 rpg
Emiah Bingley, Junior, Guard, 4.2 ppg, 1.1 apg
Shakayla Thomas, Freshman, Forward, 9.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg
Shakena Richardson, Junior, Guard, 3.0 ppg, 2.9 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.4 (19th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 57.1 (36, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.6 (18, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.6 (37, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.0 (110, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (51, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 64.6 (290, 14)
Rebound Margin: 13.5 (2, 1)
Assists Per Game: 16.2 (26, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 17.3 (239, 12)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NCAA First Round win over Iowa State
2014 NCAA Second Round loss to Stanford
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Princeton
2013 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Baylor
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Stamford
2011 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Georgia
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Louisiana Tech
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over St. John's
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Mississippi State
2010 NCAA Regional Final loss to Connecticut
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over North Carolina A&T
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Arizona State
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Ohio State
2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Oklahoma State
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Old Dominion
2007 NCAA Round of 32 win over Stanford
2007 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to LSU
*all team stats through 3/5
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
