Florida State's basketball program is riding a wave of momentum with a solid 2025-26 season under its belt, a top 20 recruiting class nationally, and a coach who has turned a program lost at sea for many years into a capable team.
In 2025, FSU went 18-15 and took No. 1 Duke to the brink in the ACC tournament, showing that they can hang with the blue bloods of the sport reliably. ESPN also sees the potential, but is skeptical. The Seminoles were featured in Joe Lunardi's men's bracketology as a team that will be among the first eight teams left out of the NCAA tournament in 2026.
The first four out include Oregon, Maryland, Arizona State, and Ole Miss, and the next four out include SMU, Minnesota, Florida State, and UCF. In the 2025-26 tournament,
only SMU and UCF were the ones who made the field of 68.
The Seminoles' last appearance in the tournament was in 2021, when they lost in the Sweet 16 to one-seed Michigan, 76-58. Luke Loucks and his squad will look to do even better in 2026, and their first game tips off against Florida A&M in the Orion180 Tip-Off Classic in Tampa on Nov. 2.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: ESPN projects Florida State basketball to barely miss NCAA tournament
