ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- St. Bonaventure's reward for winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, and dismissing three postseason-worthy opponents in the process, is a date with Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament winner Florida State.
The Bonnies (20-11) earned the No. 14 seed in the East Regional and will play the No.?3-seeded Seminoles (24-9) in the NCAA Tournament second round on Friday in Nashville, Tenn. The winner takes on the winner of No. 11 Texas versus No. 6 Cincinnati in a third-round matchup Sunday.
The Bonnies watched the Selection Show on Sunday from their team hotel at the Sheraton huddled in front of a small television that Athletic Director Steve Watson said "was the size of my steering wheel." About 30 minutes later, the team boarded a bus back to Olean.
"I know they're long, they're athletic, well coached and a good defensive team," Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt said. "They won the ACC Tournament so they're doing something right."
Facing Florida State is a tall order and the kind of effort it took for the Bonnies to knock off Saint Joseph's, Massachusetts and Xavier on consecutive days will be needed.
On Sunday the Seminoles, coached by Leonard Hamilton, became only the second team outside of North Carolina or Duke to win the ACC Tournament championship since 1996. Maryland won the title in 2004 but the Blue Devils have won 10 and the Tar Heels four.
Florida State beat North Carolina on Sunday, 85-82, with Michael Snaer claiming tournament MVP honors, the second time this season the Seminoles have beaten the Tar Heels, who earned a No. 1 seed in the Midwest. The Seminoles are the only conference tournament champion with a No. 3 seed. The others with three seeds are Baylor (27-7), Georgetown (23-8) and Marquette (25-7).
Schmidt acknowledged it will be a difficult game but mentioned "playing with house money" in winning the A-10. Now, St. Bonaventure has more to play with.
"A week ago, two weeks ago, a month ago, nobody thought we were going to make the NCAA Tournament," Schmidt said. "We're going to prepare, we're going to go down to Nashville and give it our best shot, just like we did in this tournament. We're going to play loose and no one is going to expect anything."
rmckissic@buffnews.comnull
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