Bubbled-up Florida State men's basketball enters NCAA Tournament with the right mindset

Leonard Hamilton wasn't with his team Sunday night when he found out officially that Florida State had made its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament.

The team was eating dinner together during the selection show, but the FSU head coach had stepped out to load his stuff onto the bus ahead of its flight to Indianapolis and the NCAA Tournament bubble later that night.

When stepping down off the bus, however, he misjudged the step and fell, straining his ankle and wrist.

So he found out his Seminoles (16-6, 11-4 in ACC) had been named a No. 4 seed and would open the tournament Saturday at 12:45 p.m. against No. 13 seed UNC Greensboro (21-8, 13-5 in SoCon) alone on the bus and in pain.

The Seminoles have been battling some injuries to key players of late, losing three of their last five games after they lost just three of their first 17 games this season.

But Hamilton is confident that the team, now healthier, will have a reset of sorts entering March Madness.

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"These guys are excited. We're going through something here. We're going through a mindset change..." Hamilton said.

"It's been kind of an odd situation that we've gone through. Not enough to keep us from playing, but just enough to kind of challenge us. What I said to these guys (is) 'We missed out on some pretty good opportunities. Let's regroup now, let's come together and get back.'

"Right now, we're pretty healthy, we're in a pretty good frame of mind. Now, we've just to come into this thing knowing what's at stake. I'm hopeful that it's going to bring us together and get us back in that real good rhythm."

FSU arrived in Indianapolis Sunday night and immediately entered quarantine after taking the first round of COVID-19 testing.

That round came back negative for all in FSU's travel party and the Seminoles took their second round of testing Monday morning.

They aren't permitted to leave their individual hotel rooms until they get that second round of testing back. Once those results are back in, the team is allowed to leave their hotel rooms, while staying in the bubble, to hold team meetings and film sessions in preparation for the Spartans.

FSU is also expected to have its first shootaround at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the site of its first game, Monday night after getting back its second round of negative tests.

The NCAA has had a year to prepare for a COVID-affected NCAA Tournament after last year's tournament was canceled by the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Hamilton was extremely complimentary of all the safety measures in place to allow the tournament to be held as the pandemic continues.

"The NCAA needs tremendous accolades and tremendous respect for using the knowledge that they have to come up with a plan that will keep people as safe as they can possibly be and be able to have the NCAA Tournament..." Hamilton said.

"When you're going through something for the first time, it's hard to get it exactly right. But this is well thought out. It could be even a little overkill, but I like them maybe being a bit in the overkill mode instead of the lack-of mode. I do feel like they're doing everything they possibly can do to make this the safest experience for the student-athletes and everybody concerned."

Hamilton knows that many FSU fans have already looked past the Seminoles' opening game against UNCG to a potential second-round matchup against either No. 5 seed Colorado or No. 12 seed Georgetown.

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He knows better than doing so himself, bringing a new perspective on the notion of upsets during the NCAA Tournament.

"I looked at the bracket with a clear understanding that everybody's gonna be good. I don't think there are any advantages. They always talk about the Cinderella this, Cinderella that, upset city. If you're not at your very best, you're not going to be successful..." Hamilton said.

"Every year, you're going to have some unbelievable upsets, upsets in the minds of the fans. I don't think there are any upsets in the NCAA Tournament. I think there are teams that just go and win basketball games. I think anybody that is here is capable of being successful.

"This is a new season. This is a new day. I think that anybody on any given day can go out in a game, get in that zone and be successful. It happens all the time all over the country. That's why this is the greatest sporting event of all time."

No. 4 seed Florida State vs. No. 13 seed UNC Greensboro

When: Saturday, 12:45 p.m.

Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana

TV/Radio: truTV/101.5 FM

Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.

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