3 Takeaways FSU Basketball Blows Late Lead, Falls to No. 15 Virginia

Florida State entered Tuesday night riding a three-game winning streak after beating Cal, Stanford, and Notre Dame. But Tuesday would be a tough battle, considering they were hosting 15th-ranked Virginia, which was 20-3 on the season.

Virginia started well, getting out to an early 10-4 lead with a couple of well-contested deep three-pointers, but they struggled offensively for most of the rest of the half. Meanwhile, Lajae Jones had 12 points for Florida State in the first 9 and a half minutes. That helped FSU take hold of the game, despite Chauncey Wiggins having a poor first half.

A big reason FSU was able to get out in front was the effort overall in defense, but especially with rebounding. Virginia is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, but in the first half, they had just 6 offensive rebounds, leading to 9 second-chance points. FSU led by as much as 7, but Virginia started to chip away.

Even though Lajae Jones started strong, that couldn't be said for the rest of the team. They were nearly ice cold from three, only going 3/14 by halftime, and that's why they weren't able to quite run away with it. Robert McCray V did have a few big baskets, including a MONSTER tomahawk dunk, but Virginia still clawed back into the game by hitting a few timely threes.

That's a BODY my goodness #Noles https://t.co/BJNnm92xdb pic.twitter.com/GDgNBsfJRa
— Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG) February 11, 2026

Their last one by Sam Lewis tied the game at 32, which is what it would be at halftime. FSU was mostly struggling from the floor, but they did a great job of getting to the free-throw line.

The second half started Florida State's way, as they outscored Virginia 9-2 in the opening minutes. But Virginia came right back behind some DIFFICULT threes by Jacari White.

After the game was tied back up at 45, Florida State ripped off a 9-0 run led by 6 points from Kobe MaGee and an and-one from Robert McCray. Once again, Jacari White just refused to let the Cavs die. He had 8 of Virginia's next 10 points, which pulled them back within two with just over five minutes remaining. And it wasn't like he was being left open, he was just hitting some TOUGH shots.

By the final media timeout, Florida State was hanging on to a tight 58-55 lead. Thijs De Ridder, who had mostly been quiet all game, hit a mid-range shot to cut the lead to one, and FSU was on a streak of no made field goals for more than four minutes. Jacari White gave Virginia the lead with just over a minute remaining with a ferocious slam, then McCray left a floater at the rim short with about 45 seconds remaining. De Ridder then made it a three-point game with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Lajae Jones missed a shot at the top of the key, which was a rushed three, and they had to try and get lucky with the foul game after that, but Virginia ended up turning the ball over, fumbling the ball out of bounds.

Robert McCray V would miss the final three, and Florida State would fall, 61-58. They were held without a made field goal for the final 6:30 of the game, outscored 11-1 over that time. It's a brutal way to lose after leading nearly the entire way.

Florida State will hit the road to play Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon next.

FINAL: Florida State falls 61-58 to #15 Virginia #Noles were held without a made field goal over the final 6:30. Tough way to lose after leading the entire way

R McCray V 20 pts
L Jones 21 pts, 13 rebs

NEXT: At Virginia Tech Saturday pic.twitter.com/A5vTcQmNfr
— Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG) February 11, 2026

1. Welcome Back, Lajae Jones

A few games ago, Luke Loucks changed some things defensively and really challenged his team to be better on the glass. No one has taken that to heart more than Lajae Jones. His rebounding has been tremendous the last few games, averaging 8.0 rebounds per game over his last seven. That was no different in this game, and that rebounding mindset has carried over to his scoring. He put up 21 points and 13 rebounds in this game, which was a great bounce-back for him.

2. More Than Two Guys Have to Show Up

Florida State can often rely too heavily on its top guys, but it can't be like this. Robert McCray V and Lajae Jones combined for 41 points on 12/31 shooting. It may not be the best, but no one else felt like contributing in this game outside of those two and Kobe MaGee, who had 9 points on 3/5 shooting. The rest of the roster? 8 points on 3/26 shooting. They have to be better than that.

3. Brutal Way to Close the Game

Florida State looked like they were going to run away with the game with the 9-0 run ahead of the under-eight timeout. They only scored 4 points the rest of the game. That's a tough way to lose, and this team had been playing with confidence. Virginia is a good team, and Florida State had a real chance to pick them off. All they had to do was score two more field goals in the final six minutes. They didn't score a single point after the final media timeout.

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