On March 9, 2025, Florida State formally welcomed Luke Loucks back to Tallahassee as head coach. Loucks built a coaching staff, met fans (and fundraised), hit the transfer portal and began to build a roster.
On March 7, 2026, the Seminoles won a 10th ACC game on Senior Day with a collection of mid-major stars (and Clemson reserve Chauncey Wiggins).
And it was an improbable 10th win in league play , given the massive roster turnover and FSU’s lack of money to acquire transfers. The Seminoles were projected to finish 15th in the ACC’s preseason poll, but they will likely take the eighth spot.
Wiggins scored a career-best 31 points on 10 of 14 shooting as FSU routed SMU 91-78 on Saturday afternoon. He drilled 6 of 8 3-pointers and helped spark a run late in the first half. Wiggins also had nine rebounds.
Robert McCray V had 17 points and 12 assists, the most he’s had in an ACC game. McCray V scored in double figures in all but one league game for the Seminoles (17-14, 10-8 ACC). It was quite the finish to the season after FSU began the ACC schedule 0-5.
“I never lost confidence in the big picture of what we're building,” FSU coach Luke Loucks said. “I never lost belief in why I took this job or can I do this thing as a head coach. I can see beyond just this season of what we're building.”
Jones had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Two more seniors contributed as they scored 82 of FSU’s 91 points on Saturday. Alex Steen fouled out with eight points and four rebounds, while Kobe MaGee had 10 points (making 3 of 6 3-pointers).
“We’ve had our ups and downs this season but I’m very glad that we’re going up and we’re going to continue to go up,” Wiggins said. “It’s just buying in.”
FSU withstood a second-half run by SMU that was fueled by star guard Boopie Miller, who for a stretch couldn’t miss with his deep 3-point attempts. Miller had 32 points on 11 of 20 shooting, including 7 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Despite Miller’s best efforts, FSU maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half.
FSU and SMU were off to a sluggish start, with the teams tied at 18 with 7:52 until halftime. But the Seminoles quickly began to pull away as McCray V banked in a 3-pointer and Wiggins hit back-to-back corner 3s to extend the lead to 29-18.
Defense sparked the offense, with nine steals helping lead to opportunities — especially late in the first half. Jones had four steals and Wiggins had 16 first-half points as FSU led 45-27 at the break.
AJ Swinton out for season
Before the game, FSU announced that sophomore forward AJ Swinton had a torn ACL and would miss the remainder of the season. Without Swinton, FSU leaned more on Cam Miles (six points in 11+ minutes).
Senior day starters
Loucks took a page out of the Leonard Hamilton playbook and started five seniors in FSU’s final regular-season home game. Wiggins, Steen, MaGee, McCray and Jones started.
Shah Muhammad, who had not played since Jan. 10, played three minutes early and finished an alley-oop dunk. He also had a rebound and a turnover.
Up next
FSU will play on Wednesday in the ACC Tournament at Charlotte, N.C. Look for the full bracket to be announced later Saturday, following the Duke-UNC game.
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