FSU basketball picks up a road win, beat BC 72-62

After blowing a 2nd half lead versus Pitt, Florida State found themselves in danger of letting their NCAA Tournament hopes slip away. Entering this game, SB Nation's bracketologist had the Noles as one of the last four teams in the dance, while ESPN listed FSU as one of the first four out.

Conference road losses usually aren't too damaging, but that changes when the opponent is 0-6 Boston College.

The coaches likely tried to downplay this, but certainly the players knew they were going to Boston in a game they had to win.

Florida State avoided another slow start, but hot shooting from Boston College kept them right in it. They hit three of their first four 3s, and were 4-6 at the break.

The good shooting helped to keep Florida State from taking the lead, but what really hurt the Noles were their own sloppy turnovers.

Luckily, they finished the half strong on a 13-5 run, fueled by six offensive rebounds in the final four minutes.

It was 37-32 at the break. Jarquez Smith and Malik Beasley were the offensive stars in that half.

The Seminoles scored eight straight to start the second, and it looked like they'd finally put some distance between them and the Eagles.

But again, hot shooting combined with sloppy turnovers combined to prevent this from becoming a blowout.

It was never tight - BC never once cut the 2nd half lead to one possession - but it was always in that gray area where the underdog might come back.

But the Noles did enough to get it done. BC had to start fouling down the stretch, and Florida State left Boston with a 72-62 road win.

Malik Beasley continued his consistent play, leading FSU with 22 points as he knocked down 4-7 3s. Jarquez Smith had another nice game against BC's zone, with 13 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. Dwayne Bacon had his third double-double with 12 points and 14 boards. And Xavier Rathan-Mayes had nine assists.

Boris Bojanovsky, who teams with Jarquez Smith as the only real ACC ready interior players for FSU, left the game late with a shoulder injury. We will update that as information becomes available. Obviously, another injury to the already depleted front line would be bad.

The Noles are now 13-7 (3-5) and host Clemson on Saturday.