Florida St. wallops Mizzou to advance
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Florida State Seminoles might not have a flashy scorer.
But they do have plenty of Seminoles who can score.
Ninth-seeded Florida State (21-11) beat No. 8 seed Missouri 67-54 on Friday night in the West Region. A total of 10 Seminoles scored at least two points — by halftime— as they wore out a Missouri Tigers team with only eight players available for this first-round game.
Michael Porter Jr. came off the bench for his third game with Missouri (2013).
He finished with 16 points, scoring 13 in the second half as the Tigers tried to rally. But they got within 50-44 only to see the Seminoles reel off 15 straight points.
Florida State plays No. 1 seed Xavier (29-5) on Sunday.
NORTH CAROLINA 84 LIPSCOMB 66
In Charlotte, N.C., Kenny Williams scored 18 points and the defending national champion Tar Heels took their time before opening up, beating the Bisons in the first round.
Theo Pinson had 15 points and flirted with a triple-double for the Tar Heels (26-10), the No. 2 seed in the West Region.
Playing for the first time in the NCAA tourney, the 15th-seeded Bisons (23-10) shot well at the start and held an early six-point edge.
They led 33-31 with under four minutes left in the first half before North Carolina went on a 12-1 run to take control at the half.
Bisons top scorer Garrison Matthews (22.1 points) struggled to score eight on 3-for-14 shooting.