Inside the box score: FSU 55, Miami 54

1. With the win FSU is now 4-5 in the ACC. It has been seven years since Florida State had a losing ACC record, and Duke is the only other program that can make that claim. Somehow the Noles have to find five more wins. The good news is that there are three teams with just one conference win, and FSU gets to play all three. Those are far from guaranteed wins, but the schedule is manageable.

2. Xavier Rathan-Mayes had a quiet game, scoring just five points. But he also played 36 minutes and committed just one turnover. That's exactly the steadying presence this team needs at the point. While other guys were dribbling the ball of their feet and passing it to open fans, XRM played under control and failed to get rattled by Angel Rodriguez's pressure defense.

3. Montay Brandon had an incredible 2nd half. With his team down nine, Montay played a five minute stretch where he scored nine points, got two steals, blocked a shot, grabbed an offensive board, and had the assist on the only FSU basket not made by Montay. For the game he made all seven shots from the floor, scoring 18 points.

4. Boris Bojanovsky has uncharacteristically struggled from the line this year. He made 70% in his first two years, but a week ago he was at 45% for the season. Since then he made 5-6 in FSU's double overtime win against Wake Forest, and followed that up with 4-4 against Miami. He's now at 56% for the year.

5. FSU won 55-54 in a grinding, 55 possession game. It was the lowest possession game since The Citadel, and only the 2nd game this year played with fewer than 60 possessions. It was also just the 2nd ACC game this year where FSU held the opponent below a point per possession. Only four teams this season had held Miami to less than a point per possession, and Georgia Tech was the only ACC team to do it. Offensively, FSU has scored more than a point per possession in three straight games. With a little bit of defense, this team could win some games.