ACC Schedule Sets ‘Noles Up to Finish Strong

Posted by on Sep 3, 2015 09:08

The 2015-16 ACC basketball schedule was released Wednesday and for Florida State, the upcoming season has a chance to be a good one. FSU brings in a stellar recruiting class to add to veteran roster and should have a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament given the ACC schedule.

Of the six ACC teams to reach the NCAA Tournament last season, the Seminoles will face only N.C. State twice. FSU will face the Wolfpack in Raleigh on January 13th before hosting them on February 1st. The other teams Florida State will see twice are Clemson, Miami and Syracuse.

The most difficult ACC stretch for the Seminoles will come early. After opening ACC play at Clemson, FSU hosts North Carolina, then visits Miami and N.C. State before hosting a Virginia team that has finished with the best record in the ACC in each of the last two seasons. FSU then visits Louisville and hosts Pittsburgh. If the Seminoles can manage to play well early in conference play, they should remain in the NCAA Tournament conversation late in the year.

Florida State doesn’t face Duke until February 25th at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The contest with the Blue Devils however, comes during what could be a rather mild stretch to close the season.

The Seminoles play four of their final six regular season games at home with a trip to Duke and a home contest against a depleted Notre Dame team being the only two against teams that went dancing last season. This should give FSU a chance to head into the conference tournament in the nation’s capital with momentum on its side.

With the Seminoles losing just one key player from last season while bringing in talented freshmen in Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley, the NCAA Tournament is the goal this season. FSU also features a pair of talented sophomores in guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Phil Cofer. The Seminoles have notched 10 straight winning seasons, but have missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three.

About Mike Ferguson

Mike Ferguson is a Bloguin contributor, the editor of Noled Out and a lifetime Florida State sports enthusiast. Mike vividly remembers watching Warrick Dunn run down the sideline in Gainesville in 1993, the "Choke at Doak" in 1994 and Monte Cummings' driving layup to beat #1 Duke in 2002. Mike has worked as a sports reporter in both print and online. For isportsweb in 2013, Mike gave press coverage of Florida State football's run to the 2013 national championship. Mike has been featured on SI.com, FoxSports.com and Yahoo Sports while interviewing major sports stars such as 2013 National League MVP Andrew McCutchen. Mike graduated from Florida State University in 2009 with a major in Religion and a minor in Communications. Mike currently resides in Haines City, Florida with his wife Jennifer and daughters Trinity and Greenly. Mike is a full-time reporter at Polk County's newspaper, The Ledger, in Lakeland, Florida. Mike can be followed on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.

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