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3 things FSU women's basketball needs for deep run into March Madness
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- 3 things FSU women's basketball needs for deep run into March Madness
The madness of March is right around the corner and Florida State women's basketball has aspirations of playing deep into the month.
The Seminoles, sitting in sixth in the ACC standing and 41st in the NET rankings , have two games left on their schedule before the start of postseason:
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Thursday at No. 22 Louisville and Sunday at home against Clemson.
While only so much can be done in two games, FSU still has a wide range of outcomes when it comes to seeding in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
Here is what the Seminoles need to do to be in the best shape come March.
Win out
Florida State women's basketball players celebrate an 89-81 win over Virginia Tech on Jan. 14, 2024, at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center
It's way easier said than done and this will always be the best equation for any team. However, for FSU, this could be the difference between traveling and hosting.
Early in the season, bracketology forecasts had FSU hosting first and second-round games as a No. 3/4 seed.
However, a trio of midseason losses to Syracuse (79-73), Virginia (91-87) and Duke (88-46) have moved the Seminoles into a No. 7/8 seed, narrowly holding on to a top eight seed.
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That trio of losses has been the difference as before the skid, FSU had one conference loss to then-No. 3 NC State in overtime and a win over then-No. 11 Virginia Tech .
Since the slump, the Seminoles have gone 6-1, with the lone loss coming to then-No. 11 Notre Dame in double overtime, 98-94.
FSU is in a place where if it wins its two regular season games against Louisville and Clemson, it could bump it up a few more spots in both tournaments.
A win over No. 22 Louisville, NET rank 23, would be huge in jumping a few more spots.
As of now, ACC Tournament-wise, FSU would get a single-round bye as the No. 6 seed and face the winner of No. 11 Georgia Tech and No. 14 Pittsburgh.
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However, two more wins could give them a No. 3 or No. 4 seed, which is a double-round bye.
When it comes to hosting the NCAA Tournament, the best way FSU has a chance of doing that is by winning out and then the ACC Tournament.
Again, easier said than done, but taking out teams like Virginia Tech and NC State, both of whom are projected to be hosts, would strengthen the Seminoles' resume.
As of now, FSU is projected as a No. 8 seed in the Albany region. It would face No. 9 Tennessee, for the second time this season, in Columbus, Ohio.
The winner would likely face the No. 1 projected seed and host Ohio State.
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Keep stars healthy, fresh
Florida State women's basketball defeated Virginia Tech, 89-81, on Jan. 14, 2024 at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
Knock on wood, but it was around this time last year that FSU lost guards Ta'Niya Latson and O'Mariah Gordon to injury, leading to a short stint in the postseason.
FSU was without Latson for the final three games of the season.
The Seminoles went 0-3, which included an upset to Wake Forest in the second round of the ACC Tournament, a game where FSU was up by 20, and a first-round loss to Georgia in the NCAA Tournament.
The Seminoles were without Gordon in the NCAA Tournament game, which left the Seminoles with eight healthy players.
Louisville is going to be a game where FSU needs all of its star power from Latson, Gordon, forward Makayla Timpson and guard Sara Bejedi , but Clemson may be a game where the Seminoles can rest its starters a bit more.
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There's a need to get a lead and build it up first, but if FSU gets there, it should look to emptying the bench and allowing its starters to rest.
With what had happened at the end of last season, the Seminoles don't want to push their starters too much nearing postseason play and risk not having them come March.
Contribution from bench
Florida State women's basketball upset No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
Coinciding with resting FSU's starters, the Seminoles will need more contributions from their bench if they want to make a deep run into March.
Latson, Gordon, Bejedi and Timpson make up 61.6 of FSU's 81 points a game. Against Boston College , the quad of players had 73 of FSU's 84 points in its win over Boston College.
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Rebounding has been the strength of the bench as it has contributed to, making up 11.6 of FSU's 41.5 rebounds per game.
Brianna "Snoop" Turnage , who is the fifth starter, has seen her production heighten more and more throughout the season, averaging six rebounds a game.
Alexis Tucker and Amaya Bonner , who started off the season posting high-scoring numbers, have since seen their scoring production dip, with Tucker averaging 5.6 points and Bonner 4.3.
Having their scoring production rise off the bench could be just what FSU needs for a memorable run into March. Depth is huge when it comes to winning in post-season tournaments.
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How to watch FSU women's basketball at Louisville
Who:Florida State (20-8, 11-5) vs. No. 22 Louisville (22-7, 11-5)
When:Thursday, 8 p.m. at KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Ky.
TV: ACC Network
ACC standings, schedule
(No. 5) Virginia Tech 23-4, 14-2 at No. 17 Notre Dame (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
(No. 19) Syracuse 23-5, 13-4 at No. 12 NC State (Thursday at 7 p.m. )
(No. 12) NC State 23-5, 11-5 vs. No. 19 Syracuse (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
(No. 17) Notre Dame 21-6, 11-5 vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
(No. 22) Louisville 22-7, 11-5 vs. FSU (Thursday at 8 p.m.)
(RV) FSU 20-8, 11-5 at No. 22 Louisville (Thursday at 8 p.m.)
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(RV) Duke 18-9, 10-6 vs. Virginia (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
(RV) North Carolina 18-10, 10-6 at Boston College (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
Miami 17-10, 7-9 vs. Pittsburgh (Thursday at 6 p.m.)
Virginia 14-13, 6-10 at Duke (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
Georgia Tech 15-14, 6-11 at Miami (Sunday at 2 p.m.)
Clemson 11-17, 4-12 at Wake Forest (Thursday at 6 p.m.)
Boston College 11-18, 3-13 vs. North Carolina (Thursday at 7 p.m.)
Pittsburgh 8-21, 2-14 at Miami (Thursday at 6 p.m.)
Wake Forest 6-22, 2-14 vs. Clemson (Thursday at 6 p.m.)
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 3 ways FSU women's basketball can have prime seeding for post-season tournaments
