3/17/2024 basketball Edit

FSU women's basketball set to play in Texas in NCAA Tournament

Bob Ferrante • TheOsceola

Editor

Florida State earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament and is going to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th straight year.

The Seminoles will face No. 8 seed Alabama in the first round on Friday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN.

If they win, the Seminoles could face No. 1 seed Texas in Austin.

"My staff is already back in the office, pulling stats, pulling film and we'll dive in right now tonight getting ready for Alabama and also the next round's teams," FSU coach Brooke Wyckoff said. "There's not much time."

FSU (23-10) knew it was in the field this season as an at-large program and has done so for an 11th straight time, joining UConn, Baylor, Louisville, Maryland, South Carolina, Stanford and Tennessee.

Injuries limited FSU in March 2023, but now the Seminoles are healthy going into this year's tournament.

"To know that we have our full contingent of what we've played with all season and everybody is feeling good and healthy is huge for us," Wyckoff said. "I really feel like we're in a great place as a team. We finished strong, we did well in the ACC Tournament. We overachieved by all standards and so I just feel so good about where we are right now."

FSU has not won a game in the NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season. That was a point underscored by Wyckoff, who said the focus for the last week has been about improving and not worrying too much about seeds as the Seminoles prepare for the NCAA Tournament.

"Really, the biggest focus this week has been on winning that first game," Wyckoff said. "That's what we want to do. That's our goal. We haven't done that in the last few years. And so we start there. After that, whatever happens is great. We move on to the next (opponent)."

The Seminoles held a watch party on Sunday night to watch the selection show inside the Donald L. Tucker Center.