USA Today released its preseason men's basketball rankings based on votes from its panel of 31 coaches and the Florida St. Seminoles finished just outside the top 25. FSU received 108 points in the voting, two fewer than the No. 25 Missouri Tigers and one more than the Texas Longhorns, so it's not as though the coaches don't think highly of the Seminoles; a few slightly altered votes might have been enough to vault Leonard Hamilton's club into the top 25.
With 30 first-place votes, the North Carolina Tar Heels, an Atlantic Coast Conference rival of Florida State, are tops in the poll. The Kentucky Wildcats stand at No. 2. The Duke Blue Devils, another ACC foe, are No. 6. Future conference members the Syracuse Orange (No. 6) and Pittsburgh Panthers (No. 11) also appear.
Florida State's 2010/11 season ended in the Southeast Regional Semifinal of the NCAA Tournament, losing to the VCU Rams by a 72-71 final.