Seminole fans filed in to the Tucker Civic Center on Monday to watch the Florida State women’s basketball team get its highest seeding ever in the NCAA Tournament. Under the watch of the ACC and ESPNW Coach of the Year Sue Semrau, the ‘Noles have stomped their way to a 29-4 overall record and their first ever appearance in the ACC Championship. A strong tournament performance as the second-seed could cement this team as the greatest ever for the university.
Luckily for FSU fans, the first round against the 15th-seed Alabama State Hornets will be hosted by the Seminoles, meaning fan attendance could set records. With a team that might be the best in FSU history, this March should be a fun journey for diehards and newcomers alike.
Key Storylines for FSU:
1. Can Leticia Romero cut down on the turnovers? – FSU’s three opponents in the ACC Tournament forced a combined 13 turnovers from Romero. While that is fairly decent and comes with the territory of being the main ball distributor, the Seminoles will have to play disciplined basketball to advance far in the tournament. Nothing can kill a team’s rhythm faster than turnovers, which slow momentum and often give the opponent easy points on the other end. Romero will need to make sure she controls the ball well enough so the opposing team can’t focus on pressuring the backcourt.
2. How will FSU deal with the ASU Forwards? – The issue with the Alabama State forwards is that they are all hybrid sort of players. They can play either guard or forward and excel in both positions, creating nightmare match-ups for players, who are either not quick enough to defend a guard or not big enough to shut down a forward. Shakayla Thomas and Ivey Slaughter will be essential here to slow down the versatile forwards of Alabama State.
3. Can Adut Bulgak get back to dominating performances? – Bulgak has been playing well recently, let’s get that clarified. She is a consistent performer for the Seminoles that controls the boards and anchors the defense. But she has yet to have one of her trademark outings in the postseason so far. Obviously the competition has been better, and that’s important to remember when asking if she will have another dominating performance. It just adds so much to the team when Bulgak is on a roll and seems to be unstoppable in the post. It opens up so many other facets of that will be crucial to a good postseason performance for FSU.
Key Storylines for Alabama State:
1. Can the Hornets maintain their late season run? – At the start of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, very few expected Alabama State to reach the NCAA Tournament. However, the Hornets got hot at the right time and rattled off three straight victories to capture the conference title. In the championship game against Southern University, they had multiple players score in double digits and shot a solid 50 percent for the day. If Alabama State has any chance to upset Florida State on Saturday, it’ll need to reenact their past few games and shoot lights out from everywhere on the court.
2. How will Jasmine Peeples fare against Bulgak? – Peeples has been one of the top performers for the Hornets the whole season and provides them with the ever-necessary low post threat as she averages a double-double. But it is no question that Peeples has yet to face a player as talented as Bulgak that can match her move-for-move. If the Hornets want this to be a close game, they’ll have to hope that Peeples has some tricks up her sleeve to match Bulgak’s production. If not, expect a huge Seminole advantage on the boards.
3. Who else will step up for the Hornets? – When looking at the roster for Alabama State, it becomes apparent that their success is on the backs of two players — center Jasmine Peeples, and forward Britney Wright. Unfortunately for the Hornets, FSU is stacked with talent and has very good depth. At least one of their players will have to emerge against the Seminoles for them to have any chance of advancing to the next round.
Prediction: Quite frankly, these two teams are on different levels. Alabama State squeaked into the tournament after beating a hampered Southern team and getting a good mix of luck and rhythm at the right time. On the other side, Florida State is one of the best teams in the country in the midst of its greatest season ever. From a pure talent standpoint, the ‘Noles have a clear advantage. From a pure performance standpoint, the ‘Noles still have an advantage. While the Hornets are happy to be in the tournament, don’t expect them to stick around for long. 76-48 Seminoles.
