ETSU the underdog against Florida in NCAA tourney

The crowd in Orlando, Florida was treated to alley-oops and strong slam dunks as both the Eagles and Seminoles rocked the rim on a consistent basis. FSU shot almost 56 percent from the field while shooting primarily high-percentage shots.

Dwayne Bacon started sizzling from the field, beginning the game hitting 8 of his first 10 shots.

That just explains the difficulty of beating a team like Florida State.

“Yeah, that got me going really early”, said Robinson. If the Seminoles want to continue in the Big Dance, that number will need to improve. Florida Gulf Coast had no problems driving in the first half, but then the undersized Eagles got scared and settled for a lot of jumpers.

All of those higher seeds stumbled down the stretch and have enough flaws that professional and amateur bracketologists across the country have them on upset alert.

– The Seminoles outrebounded the Eagles 46-26 and had nine blocks to FGCU’s one.

It appeared early that Florida State was going to break it wide open.

While it never felt like the Gators (25-8) were in any serious trouble against the Buccaneers (27-8), they appeared frustrated and maybe a bit flustered during the first half before finding a rhythm.

“We played really well for the most part”, Goodwin said.

While FGCU looked to be locked into its typical offensive rhythm, FSU didn’t back down despite going almost five minutes without a basket, going five for their last five shots at the end of the half to take a 40-36 lead at the half.

FGCU once again pulled things close as the game wound down, pulling within five points with six seconds left, but a foul on an inbound pass to Rathan-Mayes helped give FSU its final 86-80 lead. Gators point guard Kasey Hill may have summed it up best: “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 0-0 for the first 5 minutes”.

Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton used every scholarship player during the March Madness opener.

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles first got some attention in 2010, when Chris Sale was named National Pitcher of the Year in his final season before becoming a first-round pick, and, ultimately, a five-time MLB All-Star. The Leathernecks finished the season on an 11 game winning streak, which included three games in the Summit League Tournament that culminated in a 77-69 win over IUPUI for the league crown. A win by Missouri would set up the fifth all time meeting between the Lady ‘Noles and the Tigers, a series tied at two games a piece after FSU won the last two contests.

Jonathan Issac on #FSU out-dunking FGCU 9-2: “They might be Dunk City but we’re Dunk Nation”.

Only once since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 have all four higher seeds in the same arena lost in the first round. The game will be televised on TNT.