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DULUTH, Ga. -- The NCAA women's basketball tournament selection committee finally gave the MEAC a little respect Monday night, designating N.C. A&T as a No. 14 seed rather than the usual No. 16.

That doesn't mean the Aggies won't have a major first-round challenge when they face third-seeded Florida State at 2:30 p.m. today in the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

The Seminoles (25-7) are ranked No. 12 nationally and shared first place in the ACC with Maryland during the regular season. The Terps got a No. 1 seed for the tournament, as did Duke, the team that knocked off FSU in a semifinal of the ACC tournament.

A MEAC team has never won a women's NCAA tournament game in the event's 28-year history. N.C. A&T, though, showed what it is capable of with a victory over A-10 champion Charlotte this season, and the Aggies (26-6) have a couple other things in their favor.

Although this is N.C. A&T's first NCAA trip since 1994, coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs joins senior standouts Amber Bland and Brittanie Taylor-James with March Madness experience.

This is the seventh tournament for Cage-Bibbs, who previously guided Grambling and Hampton to the tournament. Bland played on a NCAA team as a freshman at Penn State, while Taylor-James did the same at UC-Santa Barbara.

"Our kids deserve to be here and they are going to do their very best," Cage-Bibbs said.

No. 6 seed Arizona State (23-8) plays No. 11 seed Georgia (18-13) at noon today in the other first-round game. Today's winners play at 7 p.m. Monday in the second round.

N.C. A&T expects to have plenty of support as it goes for an upset against FSU.

"There is nothing like the Aggie fans," Cage-Bibbs said. "They are going to be here."

In addition to the victory over Charlotte, the Aggies also faced Auburn, Ole Miss and Kentucky of the SEC this season, as well as Virginia Tech of the ACC. Those games got N.C. A&T ready for the MEAC and will mean that the Aggies won't be intimidated by FSU.

"I have always, as a coach, wanted to have a strong schedule," Cage-Bibbs said.

"Our coach gives us a hard schedule so we are prepared to give it a fight," Taylor-James said. "It will be a battle (against FSU)."

Taylor-James and Bland account for 45 percent of the A&T offense, averaging 19.3 and 15.8 points, respectively. Six-foot Taylor-James was named player of the year in the MEAC and 5-11 Bland was named the outstanding player in the MEAC tournament.

FSU coach Sue Semrau goes way back with Bland, who made 45 percent of her 3-point tries this season.

"She is someone we recruited out of high school, so we are very familiar," Semrau said of the former Ohio high school star. " ... She is going to pose a threat."

"I came in my freshman year [at Penn State] and got to play in the tournament, so it's good to go out being in it again," Bland said. "It's a different ballgame when you're in the NCAA tournament. I've told my teammates to keep their heads in it and stay together."

"We've talked with the team and wanted to encourage them to stay focused," Taylor-James said.

FSU is led by 6-foot-4 center Jacinta Monroe, who averages 13.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

"They are big, and that's going to pose a problem for us," Cage-Bibbs said. "[But] some of my big people can step out and be a guard, and I love that."

Being on TV (ESPN2) will be a relatively new experience for the Aggies.

"You may not have been on television, but that doesn't mean you can't perform," Cage-Bibbs said. " ... Be yourself and you'll be just fine."