Florida St. Flattens TCU 96-87

March 13, 1998 / 6:22 PM EST / CBS/AP

Florida State proved the critics wrong. The 12th-seeded Seminoles do belong in the NCAA tournament after all.

Florida State, the lowest-seeded at-large team in the tournament, beat Texas Christian at its own game Friday in defeating the fifth-seeded Horned Frogs, 96-87, in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

The Seminoles (18-13) closed the regular season by losing six of seven games. But they showed the form that got them off to a 13-1 start, including victories over Connecticut and Arizona.

Corey Louis and Randell Jackson scored 20 each and Louis had 13 rebounds as Florida State advanced to play No. 13 seed Valparaiso, a 70-69 winner over Mississippi.

Lee Nailon had 32 points and eight rebounds for TCU (27-6), but fouled out with 4:15 remaining and the Horned Frogs trailing 84-80. The Horned Frogs were outrebounded for the fourth time in the past five games, this time 45-34.

Florida State widened its lead to 89-80 on a tip-in by Louis with 2:47 remaining, then held on by making free throws after TCU got within 91-87 with just over a minute to play.

Averaging 70 points per game, the Seminoles shot 55 percent in scoring their most points of the year.

The Horned Frogs' press only works well when their shots are falling, and that didn't happen early in the second half when Florida State took control. TCU had just three field goals in the first eight minutes while Florida State opened as much as a seven-point lead.

The Seminoles consistently got the ball inside for easy shots. Jackson was especially tough, scoring 14 of his points in the second half, almost all of them in the paint.

Texas Christian had the tempo to its liking throughout the first half, which ended 46-46. But Florida State, after starting out 3-of-11 from the field, finished the half 19-of-37 and had little trouble keeping up with the Horned Frogs after the slow beginning.

TCU was making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1987. The loss spoiled a homecoming for coach Billy Tubbs, who spent 14 years as coach at Oklahoma before leaving for TCU. Tubbs picked up a technical foul in the second half for yelling at an official after no foul was called on a shot by Nailon.

Florida State's last appearance in the tournament was in 1993 when the Seminoles reached the Southeast Regional title game.

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