3 takeaways as FSU Basketball Controls Stanford, Wins Back-to-Back ACC Games

Florida State has been playing much better basketball as of late, as they've found a style of defense that is working for them better than their previous hectic style. Stanford would be an intriguing test because they have a dominant scorer in Ebuka Okorie, surrounded by a lot of great shooting.

And that great shooting was showing up early. Players like Benny Gealer and Cameron Grant hit a few deep threes early, but FSU was keeping Ebuka Okorie in check. So, even though Stanford was having success early, scoring 24 points in the first 10 minutes, it didn't feel as sustainable without him getting involved. A lot of that can be credited to Thomas Bassong, who was putting in work on defense.

Once Stanford cooled down from three, they started turning it over a little bit, and that allowed FSU to dominate down the stretch of the first half, outscoring Stanford 21-9 in the final ten minutes of the half. Bassong again was all over the place, making impacts on both ends of the floor.

Robert McCray was keeping the turnovers down while getting to the rim, Lajae Jones was being more aggressive, and that had Florida State leading by 8, 41-33, at the break.

Chauncey Wiggins got hot in the second half. He did a good job in the first half of keeping FSU in it while Stanford was scoring, and then he picked it back up in the second half, hitting back-to-back threes that helped push FSU's lead to 10. Soon after, a 12-0 run, fueled by 7 points from Kobe MaGee, had FSU's lead at 19.

Stanford wouldn't go quietly into the night, though. Ebuka Okorie started to pick it up down the stretch, getting to the rim, hitting tough shots with the shot clock winding down. Coming out of the final media timeout, Stanford had the lead down to 10. With a chance to cut the lead to single digits and in transition, Okorie got to the rim and was blocked by Robert McCray, but Stanford would cut the lead down with under two minutes to go.

But the lead would never get below 8, and Florida State would go on to win 88-80, giving them an ACC winning streak and three wins in the last four.

Florida State has a week off before playing at Notre Dame next week. Here are three overreactions from this win.

FINAL: Florida State has an ACC winning streak!!
They beat Stanford 88-80, and have now won three of the last four

C Wiggins 23 pts (career high)
R McCray V 19 pts, 7 ast
L Jones 18 pts

NEXT: at Notre Dame Saturday #Noles pic.twitter.com/io5Rs5eH9H
— Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG) February 1, 2026

1. This Version of Chauncey Wiggins is What FSU Needs

The broadcast nailed it when, after Chauncey Wiggins attached a mismatch in the middle of a zone, they said something along the lines of, "Brad Brownell is wondering where that was last year." He was great in this game, attacking mismatches, being physical down low when fighting for rebounds, and hitting the open threes. This version of Chauncey Wiggins can help them beat a team or two they shouldn't, especially when he puts up a career-high 23 points.

2. Florida State Still Learning How to Win, But This Was Arguably Their Best

Florida State mostly played well all game. The close was a little sketchy since this team is still not a great free-throw shooting team, they can struggle with rebounding, and they can be a little satisfied with their work, at times. They still have some things to learn, but they've now won three of their last four games, and they're six points away from having won five straight. They're finding some solutions. Stanford may have scored 80, but they hit some deep threes that you'll live with giving up. I thought overall, FSU played great defense, especially against one of the best scorers in the ACC.

3. Thomas Bassong is Legit

I've been singing Thomas Bassong's praises on the defensive end all year, but he was electric tonight, especially in the first half. And he's starting to figure some things out offensively. He's going to be an AWESOME player sooner rather than later. He had a steal in the first half where he shut the possession down completely by himself.

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