Florida State Basketball: Seminoles' NCAA Tournament Outlook

With the loss to Duke and all the baggage that game brings along with it out of their system, it's time for Florida State to look forward to the rest of the ACC season, as they attempt to once again make the field of 65.

While a win at home against Duke would've done wonders for the March Madness resume, it wasn't essential and there's still plenty of games left for the 'Noles to prove their worthiness.

A win at Clemson would've been good too, but the double-overtime choke job is also not enough to cost the Noles a trip to the big dance.

But sooner or later, they're going to have to start winning some tough games.

First up is Wake Forest on the road this Sunday afternoon. The Demon Deacons  come in to the matchup 11-5 overall, but only 1-2 in conference play. This is another chance for Leonard Hamilton's squad to win a game on the road—something you know the selection committee loves to see.

The Noles already won a tough one at Georgia Tech in their conference opener, and will be looking to even up their ACC record against one of the lower-level teams in the ACC. Look for Uche Echefu to bounce back from a tough game against Duke and have a good performance inside along with Ryan Reid, and lead the team to victory.

Florida State hopes to see better control on the perimeter offensively from Toney Douglas, Isaiah Swann, Ralph Mims, and Jason Rich. The Seminoles need fewer turnovers, crisper passes, and better penetration—like they showed in the second half against Duke—particularly from Rich and Douglas. 

Wednesday night saw too much individual play from the guards and out of control penetration, resulting in turnovers and offensive fouls. Ralph Mims had an awful game offensively, as the senior tried to do too much all night long. He shot the ball terribly (1-9 FG, 0-3 3PT) and got caught up trying to win the game all by himself.

Penetration in the half court offense really isn't Mims' game. He did play good pressure defense, however, and finished with an impressive six steals.

I thought Swann played a pretty good, but not great game. I still don't see much of a sense of urgency from Isaiah very often on the court. Don't get me wrong—I think he wants to win as much as anyone does. I just don't think he has a terribly good feel for the game, and is a little too non-chalant and lackadaisical with the ball. Some of his shots that didn't fall were close and could have potentially changed the outcome of the game, and because of that I can't really fault him.

Had Jason Rich not got into foul trouble so quickly in the first half, we could've seen a completely different game. He did an amazing job of picking apart the Blue Devil defense in the second half, where he scored all of his team-high 18 points.

The 'Noles have talent and experience on the perimeter, which I see being just enough to get them into the tournament this year, for the first time in a decade. They have a pretty favorable schedule coming up leading to their Super Bowl Sunday matchup with the number-one ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina in Tallahassee.

After traveling to Wake Forest, the Seminoles come home to host Virginia and NC State, then go to Virginia Tech before returning home to welcome Roy Williams' squad. 

Now, taking into consideration that those are still all ACC games and none of those come easy—that four-game stretch is about as easy as it gets in this conference. Anything worse than 3-1 is a huge disappointment, and a serious blow to the 'Noles tournament chances.

But winning all four would put Hamilton's squad in a great spot heading into February.

This undermanned squad is probably on paper the worst Florida Stat team in three years, but could just be the one to buck the trend and put the school in its first tournament in a decade.

Will the continued development of Echefu combined with veteran, skilled guards, and a favorable ACC schedule be enough? I say yes.