Southwest buster: Florida State
BRACKET BUSTER: Florida State
Record: 21-10
Coach: Leonard Hamilton
How they got in the tourney: earned at-large bid out of the ACC.
Best victories/quality losses: beat Duke, Clemson, lost to Florida by four points.
Worst losses: lost to Auburn.
Why they can contend: The Seminoles play some of the best defense in the country, which gives them a chance every game. Their field-goal percentage defense (36.5) is best in the NCAA and Bernard James and Chris Singleton make a tough interior duo, combining for almost four blocks a game. Florida State lost its first-round games the past two years, both narrowly, but Texas A&M has been sliding of late. The Aggies lost three of their last five games and have had trouble finishing games. Fun fact: Prior to coming to Tallahassee, forward Bernard James served a six-year term in the U.S. Air Force.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
