There was plenty of hype to go around concerning the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles playing Florida State in the first round of the NCAA tournament's West region, but, thanks largely to the effort of Seminole sophomore Dwayne Bacon, the #3 seed Seminoles had their way.
Bacon, a 6'7" guard from Lakeland, Florida, had his way with the FGCU backcourt, making 11 of 17 shots despite missing on all three of his 3-point attempts. Adding three of four free throws, Bacon, who averages 17.1 points per game, led Florida State in scoring with 25 while pulling down nine rebounds and dishing a pair of assists.
The Seminoles nearly let a double digit lead slip away in the late stage of the game, but managed to make free throws and enough defensive plays to keep the Eagles at bay, winning, 86-80, and advancing to the second round against #11 seed Xavier on Saturday.
Florida State will have something of a home court edge against the Musketeers being that the game is being held in Orlando, Florida. Xavier defeated Maryland, the #5 seed in the West, 76-65, to advance.
ESPN Tournament Bracket Page
NCAA Tournament Conference Scoreboard
Through Thursday (3/16) Games
| Conference (# of teams) | Record | Winners (# of Wins) |
| ACC (9) | 3-2 | Notre Dame (1), Florida St. (1), Virginia (1) |
| Big East (7) | 3-1 | Villanova (1), Butler (1), Xavier (1) |
| Big Ten (7) | 3-2 | Purdue (1), Wisconsin (1), Northwestern (1), |
| Big 12 (6) | 3-0 | Kansas State (1), West Virginia (1), Iowa St. (1) |
| SEC (5) | 1-1 | Florida (1) |
| PAC 12 (4) | 2-0 | USC (1), Arizona (1), |
| Atlantic 10 (3) | 0-1 | --- |
| American (2) | 0-0 | --- |
| West Coast (2) | 2-0 | Gonzaga (1), St. Mary's (1) |
| All Others (23) | (3-13) | Mt. St. Mary's (1), UC Davis (1), Middle Tennessee (1) |
