FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ The Florida State Seminoles are the 2020 college basketball national champions _ at least according to state lawmakers.
With the NCAA Tournament canceled due to the new coronavirus outbreak, FSU was declared "national champions by default" by a 37-2 vote in the Florida state senate. Sen. Joe Gruters, a Republican from Sarasota who is a Florida State graduate, introduced the resolution Friday.
Gruters wrote in the resolution that the Seminoles "were favored to challenge the top seeds in the national tournament and take home the national title."
The resolution also stated that it will be presented to coach Leonard Hamilton and FSU president John Thrasher "as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate."
Florida State, which was the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament, also was awarded the conference championship trophy by commissioner John Swofford after the league tournament was canceled on Thursday.
The Seminoles finished the season 26-5 and won the first ACC regular-season title in school history with a 16-4 record. They were No. 4 in the most recent AP and coaches polls. It's FSU's highest ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll since it began in 1992.
