Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Each team’s worst performance of the last decade

By Joey Loose

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Cameron Johnson
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Cameron Johnson /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 24: CJ Walker #2 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts after being called for a foul in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 24: CJ Walker #2 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts after being called for a foul in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Florida State

January 25, 2017 (at Georgia Tech 78, Florida State 56) (GS: 4)

There’s a few examples here or there, but Florida State hasn’t really had any major upsets in recent years. This is a program that has twice (2011 as a 10-seed, 2018 as a 9-seed), pulled off multiple NCAA Tourney wins as a low seed. They’ve been consistent and typically competitive in a tough ACC.

So what was so special about a late January loss to Georgia Tech? First and foremost, this was absolutely an upstart year for Georgia Tech, in Josh Pastner’s first season in the ACC, but this was still a game Florida State should have taken by double digits. Florida State was 18-2 and ranked #6 at the time of the game, coming off back-to-back impressive wins against Notre Dame and Louisville. This game was a trap and the Seminoles fell right into it, spectacularly in fact.

Josh Okogie exploded for 35 for the Yellow Jackets while Dwayne Bacon (12) was the Seminoles’ only double-digit scorer. Make no mistake about it, this game was over at halftime, with Georgia Tech up 41-15, punctuated by a 19-0 run late in the half. Florida State only shot 28% from the field and Georgia Tech took full advantage.

This same Florida State team would fall in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by 25 to 11-seeded Xavier, perhaps a performance of equal or worse value. Regardless, there’s a big difference between a struggling Georgia Tech and a potent Xavier squad. This was a Seminole team that was rolling along and falling into this major trap might’ve changed their seeding enough to ruin their chances before they even played Xavier.