Oct. 19, 2011

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (seminoles.com) –
The Florida State men’s basketball team – which is the third winningest program in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the last six years – was picked to finish in third place in the league standings for the 2011-12 season. It marks the highest the Seminoles have been picked to finish in the preseason since the 1993 season when they were also picked to finish in third place. The vote was taken at the 43rd Annual ACC Operation Basketball event at the Ritz Carlton and was voted on by 59 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

The Seminoles were selected third behind North Carolina, who was chosen as the pre-season favorite for the 19th time in the history of the event and Duke. North Carolina received 57 of the 59 first place votes cast by the media attending the event. The Tar Heels are expected to begin the season ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and ESPN Coaches’ Poll while the Blue Devils are expected to be a top 10 national pick. The Seminoles are certain to be a top 25 preseason national selection for the first time since the beginning of the 1993 season.

“For us to be picked to finish third in the ACC is another step forward for our program” said Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton. “But by no means are we satisfied with being picked to finish third. Our goal, as it is every year, is to finish first in the league – as a competitor that’s how each member of our program thinks. Our league is going to be competitive night in and night out and every game is going to be a battle but we know that we will be up to every challenge that comes our way.”

It marked the second time in school history — and first time since 1993 — that the Seminoles have been picked to finish in third place in the league standings. The Seminoles finished in second place in the final league standings and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament at the end of the 1993 season after beginning the season as the choice to finish in third place in the league standings.

The Seminoles were picked to finish in fifth place prior to the 2010-11 season and they finished in third place in the final standings. In each of the last four seasons under Hamilton the Seminoles have finished higher in the final standings than they were picked to finish in the preseason vote of the media: they were picked to finish ninth and finished in a tie for seventh in 2008, were picked 10th and finished in fourth in 2009, were picked to finish in seventh and finished in a tie for third in 2010 and picked to finish in fifth and finished in third place last season.

The Seminoles are one of only two teams in the league to finish in the top four of the league standings in each of the last three seasons (they are joined by only Duke) and are one of only four teams in the league who have played in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments.

Florida State returns three starters from last season’s team that finished with a 23-11 overall record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Included in that trio of returning starters are senior Bernard James, junior Michael Snaer and sophomore Okaro White.

The Seminoles have ranked as the nation’s top defensive team in both of the last two seasons as they lead the country in defensive field goal percentage in both of those seasons. The Seminoles’ .363 defensive mark in 2011 was the best in the ACC since 1960. Florida State enters the 2012 season looking to lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage for the NCAA record tying third consecutive season.

Florida State opens its exhibition season on Oct. 31 against Indiana University of Pennsylvania – Halloween Night – with many special promotions planned for that game. The Seminoles will then play host to Georgia Southwestern University on Nov. 7 with all of the donated proceeds going to the Aubry Boyd fund to help the former Seminole who was paralyzed in 1998. Boyd can still be found behind the Seminoles’ bench at most home games at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

The Seminoles open their regular season on Nov. 11 against Jacksonville in a 7 p.m. tipoff coming the night before the Florida State football team plays host to Miami. Single-game tickets are now available for that game by clicking onto Seminoles.com or by calling the Seminole Ticket Office at 1-888-FSU-NOLE.

Team Finish
1    North Carolina (57)  706
2    Duke (2)             649
3    Florida State        560
4    Virginia             463
5    Miami                455
6    Virginia Tech        411
7    Clemson              403
8    NC State             316
9    Maryland             264
10   Georgia Tech         176
11   Wake Forest          109
12   Boston College       90

Preseason All-ACC
Harrison Barnes, UNC      59*
John Henson, UNC          47
Tyler Zeller, UNC         46
Malcolm Grant, Miami      32
Seth Curry, Duke          20 (t)
Mike Scott, Virginia      20 (t)
*denote unanimous

Preseason Player of the Year
Harrison Barnes, North Carolina      57
John Henson, North Carolina          2

Preseason Rookie of the Year
Austin Rivers, Duke           57
James Michael McAdoo, UNC     1
Nick Faust, Maryland          1