TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State, which has won at least 19 games for the 10th time under head coach Leonard Hamilton, will play host to Davidson in the first round of the 2016 NIT on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 7:00 at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Seminoles’ appearance in event marks the 10th time in school history – and first since the 2014 season when they advanced to the semifinals – that they will play in the NIT. The NIT begins on March 15. The first three rounds will be played on campus sites. The NIT Final Four begins on Tuesday, March 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and it will end there with the championship game on Thursday, March 31.
The winner of Tuesday’s game between Florida State and Davidson will meet the winner of the Valparaiso vs. Texas Southern game on a date and at a location to be announced.
Florida State finished the 2015-16 regular season with a 19-13 record and an 8-10 mark in the ACC. The Seminoles earned two victories over nationally ranked teams with wins over then No. 11 ranked Virginia (69-62 on Jan. 17) and against then No. 20 Notre Dame (77-56 on Feb. 27) and totaled four wins over teams selected to play in the NCAA Tournament (one each against Virginia, Notre Dame, Syracuse and VCU). Florida State played nine teams that were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament and faced three teams (Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Florida) that will play in the NIT.
“This is a good match-up for us,” said Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton. “They are deep, they are experienced and have played a great schedule. We are looking forward to the game on Tuesday in Tallahassee and are excited to see the great Seminole fans who have supported us all year turn out and help us as our sixth man.”
Florida State enters the 2016 NIT having won three of its last four regular season games with victories over Notre Dame and Syracuse to close the regular season and a win over Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Seminoles finished in third place at the Paradise Jam with wins over DePaul (83-67, Nov. 21) and Ohio (90-81, Nov. 23), defeated Florida Atlantic in the Orange Bowl Classic (64-59, Dec. 19) and won at Florida (73-71, Dec. 29) in finishing with a 10-2 non-conference record.
Florida State is led by a pair of fabulous freshmen – Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley who are the Seminoles’ top two scorers – and who were both named to the All ACC Freshman team. Bacon (a team leading 15.6 points per game and a team leading 5.8 rebounds per game) and Beasley (15.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game) combined to win the ACC Rookie of the Week an incredible eight times in 2016. Bacon established the school record as he was named the ACC Rookie of the Week five times while Beasley earned the award three times including the final week of the regular season.
The Seminoles’ selection to the NIT marks the 10th postseason appearance for the Seminoles under Hamilton. The Seminoles have appeared in the NIT in seven seasons under Hamilton (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016) and made a school record four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2009-2012.
***FSU Athletics
