3 Takeaways as FSU Basketball Overcomes Double-Digit Deficit to Beat Boston College

Florida State was coming off a big win on Saturday over the Virginia Tech Hokies and was looking to carry that momentum into Tuesday night's game against a bad Boston College team, which has one of the worst offenses in power-conference basketball.

You wouldn't have known it by this game. Boston College was carving Florida State's defense up all evening long. But this wasn't the same defense that we've seen from FSU over the last month. They went back to some old habits with over-aggressive trapping and pressing, which left BC with some open shots. But BC was hitting a lot of contested shots in the first half. When Fred Payne banks in a contested three from near the left wing, sometimes you chalk it up to a hot shooting night.

But Boston College set a half-high mark on the season with 42 points and 8/12 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. When you pair that with BC's usually good defense, it makes it difficult to be competitive, and that had them leading by as much as 14 in the first half.

That hot shooting started to cool down in the second half, but they were still leading by double digits for most of the game. BC was taking advantage of the switches, getting downhill, and either finishing or kicking out. They also had a season-high in assists in this game because of all the open opportunities.

Free-throw shooting kept Florida State in this one. They were getting to the line consistently and making their opportunities, while in the moments BC went to the line, they rarely converted. And Robert McCray V also entered takeover mode in the second half. He spearheaded a 12-2 run that got the Seminoles within four. He then hit a three-pointer a few minutes later to get the lead down to one.

With a chance to take the lead with about 5 minutes remaining, Chauncey Wiggins missed an open three from the corner, and McCray gambled on getting the offensive rebound, which led to an easy runout for BC. An and-one pushed the lead back to 5.

However, Florida State wasn't done yet. McCray did what McCray does and got into the lane, and AJ Swinton hit a three from the right wing to tie the game by the under-four media timeout. On the next offensive sequence, Lajae Jones cleaned up an offensive rebound and put it home to take the lead, FSU's first lead since it was 8-5 3:11 into the game.

With the shot clock winding down, Fred Payne hit a fadeaway jumper from the right elbow to tie it, but Chauncey Wiggins responded with an open pick-and-pop three to get back in front. Luka Toews' shot was blocked on the other end, and McCray took Boden Kapke off the dribble to get to the basket, and FSU was up by 5. Kapke missed a shot at the other end, and FSU was able to ice the game at the free-throw line, going on to win, 80-72.

They outscored Boston College 48-30 in the second half, with McCray scoring 18 of those himself. They shot 61.9% from the floor in the second half, and have now shown to be second-half warriors, as they had a furious second half against Virginia Tech on Saturday, too.

Here are three takeaways from this comeback win, the largest of the season for FSU.

FINAL: Florida State overcomes a 14-pt deficit to beat Boston College, 80-72

FSU has now won 5 of the last 6, 6 of last 8

FT Line was absolutely the difference: FSU 27/35, BC 3/11

R McCray V 27 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast
A Steen 13 pts
C Wiggins 11 pts

Next: at Clemson Sat. #Noles pic.twitter.com/wuRs9GSfUh
— Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG) February 18, 2026

1. Florida State Got Lucky In This Game, But This Team Has Heart

Florida State absolutely got lucky, even with a dominant second half. But Boston College couldn't hit free throws, going just 3/13 from the line. FSU converted its chances at the line, for once, going 27/35, but that's a WILD free-throw differential.

However, this team was also just making the plays it needed to make. Lajae Jones getting that putback layup late in the game was huge. Even when they fouled, they were fouling bad free-throw shooters and getting the rebounds. No one would've faulted this team for giving up after the 0-5 start they had to ACC play, but they've shown a lot of resilience over the last month.

2. Take a Bow, Robert McCray V

Robert McCray V was spectacular in this game, especially in the second half. He ended with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, 18 of those points coming in the second half, shooting 9/15 from the floor. He's had some tough moments in ACC play, but generally, FSU has gone as he's gone. And he was exactly what FSU needed tonight.

3. Boston College May Be Better Without Donald Hand Jr.

Boston College was without its second-leading scorer, Donald Hand Jr., but he had been a shot chucker all year. Without him in the lineup, the ball found open shooters, people got to the basket, and it was just a better-looking offense.

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