FSU men’s basketball to play in Jacksonville Classic
ACC photo/ Miguel Olivella
By Chuck Walsh
Seminoles.com
Florida State, which has advanced to the Sweet 16 of each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, will face Loyola Marymount of the West Coast Conference in the semifinals of the inaugural Jacksonville Classic on Nov. 21 at the UNF Arena in Jacksonville.
It will be the Seminoles’ third time facing the Lions in school history and the first time since the 2017-18 season.
The Jacksonville Classic includes eight teams, with each team playing three games – one at a campus site and two more at the UNF Arena. The Seminoles will face LMU and either Missouri or SMU (Nov. 22) in Jacksonville and then face Boston University at home at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee on Nov. 24.
“We are very excited to be a part of the inaugural Jacksonville Classic,” said Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton. “Playing in this event gives us a great opportunity to bring our program to our fans in the Jacksonville area. Our loyal fans from across the state of Florida have played a big part in our success, and we are looking forward to their support against two very good opponents.”
Florida State will be led by four players with starting experience during their Seminole careers – Malik Osborne (32 career starts as a Seminole), Anthony Polite (24 career starts), RayQuan Evans (18 career starts), Wyatt Wilkes (nine career starts) – during the 2021-22 season. Polite and Evans were both starters on the Seminoles 2020-21 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 team.
With Polite and Evans in the starting lineup last season, the Seminoles ranked first in the ACC in scoring offense (77.2 ppg), first in scoring margin (+8.0 pgg), first in 3-point field goal percentage (.376), third in field goal percentage (.474) and third in free throws made (351). The pair also helped the Seminoles defeat four nationally ranked teams — No. 25 Florida (Dec. 12), No. 20 Clemson (Jan. 23), No. 7 Virginia (Feb. 15) and No. 22 Colorado (March 22). Each of the ranked teams the Seminoles defeated played in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Eight teams will compete in two brackets at the Jacksonville Classic. The Duval bracket is made up of Florida State, LMU, Missouri and SMU, while the Jax bracket teams are Boston University, Northern Illinois, Sam Houston State and Arkansas Little Rock.
The event begins with on-campus first round games on Nov. 18.
To purchase event tickets, visit www.jacksonvilleclassic.com. Game time and television arrangements will be announced at a later date.
