WHO: #7 seed Florida State (23-9 overall, 12-6 in ACC) vs. #10 seed Georgia (21-11 overall, 9-7 in SEC)

WHEN: Friday, March 17 at 12:30pm

WHERE: Carver Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)

TV: ESPN2

I will save a full preview of Florida State or Georgia until after the first-round games are over and I’ve had a chance to watch them in person. For now, here are a few things to look for if you watch the Florida State-Georgia game.

Florida State freshman Ta’Niya Latson is one of the best young players in the country. She averaged 21.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, and 1.6 spg while shooting 48% from two and 36% from three.

Unfortunately for Florida State, she isn’t available to play in the NCAA Tournament due to injury. Neither is guard O’Mariah Gordon, who played in 30 games and averaged 17 minutes per game. FSU only had 10 players on its roster this year, so without Latson and Gordon they’re down to 8 healthy players.

The Seminoles played without Latson (but with Gordon, who moved into the starting lineup) in the ACC Tournament and lost 65-54 against a Wake Forest team that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia plays an aggressive matchup zone defense that tries to pressure opponents into turning the ball over. Iowa got a taste of that against Central Florida last year. At its best, it will look somewhat similar to Northwestern’s aggressive zone defense that has given Iowa so much trouble in the past few years. If Georgia is going to beat Florida State and give Iowa a challenge this weekend, its zone defense will likely be a big part of it.

Florida State had a very good year, but most of its best results occurred at home. The Seminoles were 14-1 at home this year, compared to 7-5 on the road, and 2-3 at neutral courts. The Seminoles did beat 6 seed North Carolina on the road, and only lost 85-77 at 2-seed UConn, but that is the extent of their good performances away from home.

A second-round matchup against Iowa would easily be the toughest environment the Seminoles have faced all season. Their first-round game is a neutral court matchup, and will be somewhat strange in that most of the fans in attendance won’t be rooting for either team. It will be interesting to see if Florida State adapts and performs as well away from home.

Georgia played 10 games against opponents that made the NCAA Tournament in the regular season. It went just 1-9 in those games. That lone victory was over Mississippi State, which was one of the final 4 teams that earned an at-large bid into the tournament. Will Georgia’s poor record against NCAA Tournament teams continue in Iowa City, or will it get the big victory that has eluded it all season?

Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was born in Cedar Rapids and graduated from Washington High School in 1985. She played the first few years of her college basketball career at Georgia before transferring back to Iowa for her final two seasons.

Last year, Abrahamson-Henderson was coaching at Central Florida and her team came to Iowa City in December for a non-conference matchup. The zone defense gave Iowa some trouble, but the Hawks won that game 69-61.

Florida State last played in Iowa City back in November of 2017 as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Florida State came into that game ranked #13, while Iowa was unranked. Despite that, Iowa led most of the way before Florida State came back and won 94-93 thanks to a big 4th quarter.

My strongest memory from that game is that after it was over, Florida State players admired Iowa’s crowd and its enthusiasm. A box score for the game says its attendance was 4,202. Iowa will have more than triple the fans and significantly more excitement for its second-round game should both teams advance.

Florida State also has a personal connection to this Iowa team. Senior Erin Howard is from Wisconsin and played on the same AAU team as McKenna Warnock. She said during the press conference Thursday that she and Warnock have stayed in touch since high school and hope to play each other in the second round.

Like the Iowa-Southeastern Louisiana game, tempo could play a big role in this game. Florida State (77.2 possessions per game) plays at one of the fastest paces in the country. Georgia—like most defensive teams, prefers a slower tempo and averages just 70.1 possessions per game.

If this game is played at a slower pace, it’s probably advantage Georgia. If it’s played at a quicker pace, Georgia’s defense probably isn’t causing FSU too many issues and the Seminoles might be able to win the shootout.