Sweet 16: Baylor has slight advantage over FSU

Dallas, TX -- The Baylor Lady Bears will have the home court advantage for their Sweet 16 match-up against the Florida State Seminoles in the Dallas Regional.

Only being about 90 miles from home, the Lady Bears did not have a tough time traveling for their Sweet 16 date with Florida State. The proximity to their school will be able to give them a "home court" feel, as fans will not have to travel far. Baylor averages above 6,000 fans a game, one of the best in the Big 12 conference.

"The proximity to Waco will allow us to have more fans than anybody," Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey said.

First seed Baylor is coming off of a two-game homestead as they hosted both of their opponents for the beginning of the NCAA tournament. The Lady Bears won both of those games by 30 points or more, putting away nine seed Auburn 84-52 in the round of 32.

The Florida State Seminoles had their fair share of tough wins, beating Texas A&M on their home floor 74-56 after creating a 20-point lead at halftime.

Between the two schools, this match-up will be very close. Baylor boasts big post play with 6'7" Kalani Brown and 6'4" Beatrice Mompremier, while Florida State also holds big players down low in Adut Bulgak, 6'4", and Kai James, 6'5."

"I think when you look at the size, we feel like we've got some size to counter that," Florida State Head Coach Sue Semrau said.

Both Florida State and Baylor have strong point guards to lead their way, in Florida's Leticia Romero and in Baylor's Niya Johnson. Romero has experience against the Big 12 conference leaders as a transfer from Kansas State after her freshman year.

The key for both teams coming into this game will be defensive stops and keeping control of the ball. Baylor holds a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio, which ranks seventh in the nation, while Florida State's teamwork is very fluid.

"I think it will be a very entertaining game offensively, and I hope that our defense is just a tad better than them," Mulkey said.