FSU Basketball: Why 1993 Elite Eight team was best in program history

FSU basketball is back in the NCAA tournament this March – a quarter century after the best team in program history came within a game of the Final Four.

For those that may be new to the joy that is rooting for FSU basketball, the NCAA tournament may seem like something that the Seminoles are lucky to get into. In fact, the program has made half of their 16 total appearances – eight for the non math majors like myself – in the last 25 seasons the program has laced it up and hit the court.

While on paper the best season in program history may be considered the 1971-72 campaign that ended with a spot in the national title game against UCLA, it actually belongs to a team that played just one season before the current time frame where FSU basketball and March Madness doesn’t always go together.

The 1992-93 season was the seventh in which Pat Kennedy had been in charge of the Seminoles, and the New Jersey had started to turn things around with the program – including four trips to the NCAA Tournament in his first six seasons. After finishing second in the ACC and going to the Sweet 16 the previous year, some thought the Noles might be able to make some noise.

With a team that consisted of four future NBA players – a few names you have heard of like Bob Sura, Sam Cassell, Doug Edwards and future Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward – things didn’t start off great for this team as they went 3-3 to open the season, including losses to Indiana and UCLA.

Things would turn around as FSU basketball would win 19 of their final 24 regular season games (including wins over six ranked teams including top 10 Duke and Wake Forest), finishing with a 12-4 record in the ACC and another second place finish. An early exit in the conference tournament didn’t hurt their NCAA hopes, as the Noles were seeded third in the Southeast Region.

The Seminoles traveled down to Orlando and made quick work of both Evansville and Tulane in the first two rounds, heading to the second weekend of the tournament for just the third time ever at that point. Waiting for them in Charlotte for the Sweet 16 was a cinderella Western Kentucky team that took Florida State to overtime before the Seminoles pulled away with a  three point win.

In the Elite Eight, Florida State was within sniffing distance of the Final Four as they trailed top seeded Kentucky by just eight at the half. The second 20 minutes would be all Big Blue and the hopes of a third weekend in the tournament were dashed.

While they didn’t get as far as the team that played for a title, the 1993 Elite Eight squad brought back FSU basketball from the dead and proved they were not a one hit wonder. Once Edwards and Cassell went pro after the season (with Ward joining in 1994 and Sura two years later), hopes of a long term run went out the window with Kennedy leaving after the 1996-97 season.

Next: Will FSU ever make another deep NCAA Tournament run?

The Seminoles made it back to the tournament just once over the next 14 seasons before a four year streak starting in 2009 – one that included a Sweet 16 loss by one point in overtime in 2011. While FSU basketball may not have the same all around talent as that team a quarter century ago, fans can hope that a little of the history rubs off on this year’s team in their latest tournament run.