The 2019–20 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team represented
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
during the
2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 5, 2019. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded prematurely on March 12, 2020. The 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was sch ...
. The Seminoles were led by head coach
Leonard Hamilton
James Leonard Hamilton (born August 4, 1948) is an American former basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with ...
, in his 18th year, and played their home games at the
Donald L. Tucker Center
The Donald L. Tucker Civic Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. The arena has the biggest capacity of any arena in the Florida Panhandle. The arena opened i ...
on the university's
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...
campus as members of the
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
.
The Seminoles completed the best regular season in school history, finishing with a record of 26–5 and a 16–4 record in the ACC, the most conference wins in school history; the Seminoles also won their first ACC regular season title. As the top seed, Florida State had a bye to the quarterfinals of the
ACC tournament, however, the tournament was cancelled after the second round. The
NCAA tournament was subsequently canceled as well due to the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On March 14, 2020, the Florida State Senate declared the Florida State Seminoles as the national champions for the 2019–2020 season.
Previous season
The
Seminoles
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...
finished the
2018–19 season with a record of 29–8, 13–5 in ACC play, to finish in fourth place. The Seminoles defeated
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the
ACC tournament, advancing to the championship where they lost to
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
. They received an at-large bid to the
NCAA tournament where they defeated
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
and
Murray State
Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...
to reach the Sweet Sixteen before losing to
Gonzaga
Gonzaga may refer to:
Places
*Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy
*Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines
*Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil
*Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily
Surname
*House of Gonza ...
.
Offseason
Coaching changes
In July 2019, assistant coach
Dennis Gates
Dennis Gates (born January 14, 1980) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team.
Playing career
Gates played college basketball at California Golden Bears men's ba ...
was hired as the new head coach at
Cleveland State
Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school th ...
. Hamilton hired Steve Smith as Gates' replacement in August 2019.
Departures
Incoming transfers
2019 recruiting class
2020 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule
Source:
, -
!colspan=12 style=, Exhibition
, -
!colspan=12 style=, Regular season
, -
!colspan=12 style=,
ACC Tournament
, - style="background:#bbbbbb"
, style="text-align:center", Mar 12, 2020
12:30 pm, ESPN
, style="text-align:center", (1)
No. 4
, vs. (8) Clemson
''Quarterfinals''
, colspan=5 rowspan=1 style="text-align:center", ''Canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
''
, style="text-align:center",
Greensboro Coliseum
First Horizon Coliseum (formerly Greensboro Coliseum) is an arena in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959 as the first building of the Greensboro Complex, the 22,000-seat arena is the home arena of the UNC Greensboro Spartans basketball t ...
Greensboro, NC
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
Rankings
*Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.
Awards
*John Wooden Citizenship Cup finalist
**Trent Forrest
*
Julius Erving Award
The Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate small forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarde ...
finalist
**Devin Vassell
*
Naismith Coach of the Year Award semifinalist
**Leonard Hamilton
Watchlists
*Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year
**Devin Vassell
Honors
*All-ACC Second Team
**Trent Forrest
**Devin Vassell
*All-ACC Defensive Team
**Trent Forrest
*All-ACC Freshman Team
**Patrick Williams
*All-ACC Freshman Team
**Patrick Williams
*All-American Defensive Team
*Trent Forrest
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
Florida State Seminoles men's basketball seasons
Florida State Seminoles men's basketball
The Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the intercollegiate sport of basketball. The Seminoles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
Florida State Seminoles men's basketball
The Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the intercollegiate sport of basketball. The Seminoles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...