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FSU Basketball: ‘Noles NCAA Tournament projections take a hit

By Kelvin Hunt

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts in the first half while taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts in the first half while taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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FSU basketball was thought to be one of the most underrated programs in the country a couple of weeks ago. That perception is no longer after three losses in ACC play.

Is No. 11 FSU basketball (13-4, 1-3 ACC) an overrated team? That’s not the case as they played toe-to-toe with arguably the most talented team in college basketball in the Duke Blue Devils last week.

However, a loss against a mediocre Pittsburgh team had some fans scratching their heads. It was a predictable let-down game after losing how they lost to Duke.

It didn’t help the referees were awful in that game too, but good programs find ways to win those games and don’t play to their level of competition.

Then again there are a lot of factors that come into play like: rest, stylistic matchup and injures. For example, Duke’s a great program and they lost their next game against Syracuse after defeating FSU basketball at the buzzer.

Do they suck? No, it’s just the nature of the beast of playing in the best conference in the nation too.

They’ve dropped in ESPN’s latest bracketology projections. Joe Lunardi has them as a No. 6 seed taking on No. 11 Wofford in the opening round after they’ve gone 1-3 in early ACC play.

Thoughts

I have a feeling FSU basketball will be fine as the season goes along. They are not playing all that great but they are doing some things well like rebounding and free throwing shooting.

The biggest thing is efficiency. They need to get the most of every possession and cut down on the turnovers. Also, they need to take better shots.

They are shooting horrendously from three-point range and overall from the floor. They are a team that usually shoots near 50 percent from the floor and they’re checking in at 45 percent through 17 games.

Prior to conference play starting the Noles were shooting around 35 percent from beyond the arc and now they’re shooting 31 percent. They’re turning the ball over 15 times per game on average.

FSU will improve in those areas down the stretch as players continue to find their roles. They have some winnable games coming up that should get their confidence back too.

dark. Next. 3 Takeaways from 'Noles loss against Pittsburgh

It’ll be interesting to see where their tournament projections fluctuate as they continue through conference play. What’s your ultimate prediction as of now when the season ends?

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