ACC Basketball: Seminoles down Blue Devils in conference showdown

9th ranked Florida State continues their impressive start to ACC basketball play by topping 7th ranked Duke in Tallahassee.

Counterintuitively, in a match-up that featured the ACC’s 4th and 7th leading scorers (Luke Kennard of Duke and Dwayne Bacon of Florida State), it was what the teams did defensively that seemed to control the outcome of the game.

The Amile Jefferson-less Blue Devils ran into foul trouble early on. Before five minutes had been played, Chase Jeter and Harry Giles both picked up two, while Matt Jones and Grayson Allen were called for one each. This was Jeter’s first action since Duke’s game against Virginia Tech and only Giles’ 6th collegiate game. Their lack of experience showed.

Meanwhile, the Florida State defense became a nightmare for a Blue Devil offense that typically appears to control the game’s tempo. The Seminoles were all over any dribble penetration, and frequently forced dribble pick ups, which even if they didn’t create a turnover, stalled Duke’s offense and forced them into making passes they typically never make.

Florida State doubled automatically when the ball reached the paint and Duke’s inexperienced bigs, at times, looked clueless. The only Blue Devils who looked like themselves were Kennard and Allen, though the two were not able to get shots up the way they have become accustomed to.

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At halftime, with the score 41-37 in favor of the ‘Noles, the team statistics looked about even. Both teams were shooting just under 50 percent and Florida State had grabbed 18 rebounds to Duke’s 16. Duke had seven turnovers to Florida State’s five.

For the Blue Devils, things would only go downhill from there however. Duke would finish the game with 16 turnovers on the night and made just 7-of-24 three-pointers, with Allen and Frank Jackson going a combined 0-of-7 from beyond the arc.

With nine minutes left to go in the game, the Seminoles built their lead up to 10 points and Duke was not able to get back into the game.

The continuous high-pressure defense employed by FSU clearly wore on the Blue Devils individually. Jackson, Jayson Tatum and others began taking shots early in possessions, which appeared to be taken out of frustration more so than anything else.

Down the stretch, Florida State coasted to victory as they scored easily in transition and further dismantled one of the nation’s top offenses.

The roller-coaster season for the Blue Devils continues. Once they finally began to get their highly-touted freshmen worked into the rotation, Allen was suspended and stripped of his captaincy for tripping Steven Santa Ana. They would then suffer an embarrassing loss against Virginia Tech to open ACC play.

In Allen’s first game back, they looked like the National Championship contender everyone has been eager to see. Unfortunately, Coach K would have to take a leave of absence in order to get back surgery immediately following that game, and Jefferson bruised a bone in the same foot which hindered him last season. Now, they sit in a 4-way tie for 4th place in the ACC with a 2-2 record thus far. Their future remains as murky as ever.

Next: Why Duke has failed to meet expectations

Florida State on the other hand, has now won 12 games in a row and remains atop the ACC as the only team with four wins. Ranked at No. 9 before beating No. 7 Duke, they will likely jump at least one or two spots in the AP Top 25. They will need to continue to play their best basketball in order to stay atop the ACC with big match-ups against UNC and Notre Dame coming up on January 14th and 18.