TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Seminoles after losing three starters from last year's NCAA tournament team to the NBA. Instead, Florida State is back in the big dance for the second consecutive season and sixth time under head coach Leonard Hamilton.
The Seminoles earned the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region and will face No. 8 seed Missouri at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Florida State (20-11, 9-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated four ranked teams this season -- Florida, North Carolina, Miami and Clemson. All four teams were selected for the NCAA tournament.
The Seminoles are led by junior Terance Mann, who is tops on the team in scoring (13.2 per game) and rebounding (5.7 per game).
Missouri (20-12, 10-8 Southeastern Conference) gets a boost with the return of highly touted freshman Michael Porter Jr., who missed most of the season with an injury. He'll be available for Thursday's game.
The winner will face the winner of Xavier vs. North Carolina Central/Texas Southern on Sunday. FSU lost to Xavier 91-66 in the second round of last year's tournament.
Click here to see the complete NCAA tournament bracket.