FSU basketball: Noles projected as No. 5 seed in 2021 NCAA Tournament

No. 20 FSU basketball (10-3, 6-2 ACC) is coming off arguably its worst performance of the season in an 11-point loss against Georgia Tech.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak, which had many fans and pundits calling for the Noles to be a contender to make the Final Four.

FSU is talented, and when firing on all cylinders, is a handful for any team in the country. The only issue is they have looked out of sync, sloppy, and uninterested in their three losses.

The winning streak came after a two-week layoff after the new year and they are experiencing another due to COVID-19 issues. Maybe Leonard Hamilton will be able to ignite a fire under the team once again?

Despite their last outing, the Noles are projecting as the No. 5 seed in the latest Bracketology by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Lunardi has the Noles taking on No. 12 Toledo in the Region 3 bracket hosted in Indianapolis. I would agree with a No. 5 seed at this point.

The Noles have some wins over some ranked competition, but they’ve yet to face a top 10 team and have laid some duds against the likes of Central Florida, Clemson, and Georgia Tech.

FSU avenged the Clemson loss convincingly, but their propensity to not show up at times this season can’t allow me to place them as a higher seed.

As of right now, they have two ranked teams left on their schedule,, with Virginia Tech and Virginia. If they can win those and the rest of their games I could see them getting a No. 2 or No. 3 seed.

The ACC Conference isn’t as good as usual, and winning the conference will likely not carry the same weight as it has in past years.

The Noles will be back in action on February 13 as they host Wake Forest at noon.