INDIANAPOLIS -- Balsa Koprivica has been playing against Hunter Dickinson since middle school.

The Florida State center said he's been going up against the Michigan center since the two were on the Nike AAU circut back in their early teenage years. Now, he and his Seminole teammates will be battling Dickinson on a stage just a little bit larger.

And if Florida State (18-6) is going to knock off the No. 1 seed Wolverines (22-4) on Sunday evening and advance to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament, it will have to contain the star Michigan freshman, who is averaging 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds and shooting 60.5 percent from the floor in his debut season.

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"He’s a versatile big down low," Koprivica said. "He can score in a variety of ways, and he’s a pretty good passer in the post. And they run some mid-post stuff for him, too."

While Dickinson is best known for his scoring prowess, he has proven to be an adept passer as well. He's only averaging one assist per game, but his kickouts from double-teams can result in open 3-pointers for teammates.

At 7-foot-1 and 255 pounds, Dickinson simply overpowered many defenses he faced this season.

Florida State, of course, isn't most defenses. The Seminoles have two 7-footers (Koprivica and Tanor Ngom) they will throw at Dickinson in the post, as well as a number of versatile, long and athletic forwards who will try to keep him from catching the ball at all.

Because when he does get it, he's more than just a scorer.

"He is an excellent passer for a man his size," FSU associate head coach Stan Jones said. "If you don’t play him the right way, if you dont come at the right time with whatever help you’re going to bring with him, he’s going to drop it off to people cutting to the basket or skip-pass it to the other side of the floor for shooters, which is a big part of their scheme."

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Dickinson is far from the only Michigan player FSU will have to worry about. Even with second-leading scorer Isaiah Livers expected to be out for this game with a foot injury, the Wolverines were able to put up 86 points in a hard-fought win over LSU in the Round of 32.

Eli Brooks scored 21 points, and Chaundee Brown came off the bench to score 21 as well. Potential NBA first-round pick Franz Wagner added 15 points and 7 assists.

But to have a chance to beat Michigan, the Seminoles know they'll have to first contain Dickinson, who is a familiar face to just about everyone in the FSU lineup.

Dickinson was recruited heavily by the Seminoles coming out of famed basketball power Dematha Catholic in Maryland, and he even took an official visit to Tallahassee. Florida State was one of his final four schools in the recruiting process. But in the end, he chose Juwan Howard and the Wolverines instead.

And the Virginia native has been one of the best big men in the country all season long, scoring in double-figures in each of his first 11 games. He did have a dip in the middle of the year, when he averaged just 6.7 points over a three-game stretch, but he's scored at least 10 points in 22 of the Wolverines' 26 games this season.

Which is not stunning at all to Jones.

"Hunter's a guy that's a quick learner," he said. "He loves basketball. I know him well, and I know his family well. I'm not surprised by his success, because he's a guy that loves competition. You can see that with the physicality he plays with. He doesn't mind bumping and grinding.

"He doesn't mind getting down there and laying bodies on people. And you've got to love the game to be able to do that."

*ALSO SEE: Michigan's Howard, FSU's Hamilton share special bond, mutual respect

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Note: Today's Sweet 16 matchup between FSU and Michigan is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on CBS. Our Corey Clark will be covering the game from courtside and will run a live chat and update thread on the Seminole Hoops Message Board.