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ACC Basketball: Duke, UNC and Florida State figuring out rotations

By Daniel Benjamin

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 20: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during the first half of the game against Texas Tech Red Raiders during the Ameritas Insurance Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 20: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during the first half of the game against Texas Tech Red Raiders during the Ameritas Insurance Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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Florida State wins first exhibition game of the season

The Florida State Seminoles handled D-II Barry University 95-66 in an exhibition game on Tuesday. The Seminoles dominated the paint outscoring Barry 44-10 while grabbing 16 offensive rebounds and converting them into 14 second-chance points. FSU also forced 22 turnovers, although they committed 22 turnovers and shot just 32.3% from beyond the arc (10-31) and 65% from the charity stripe (13-20).

Senior guard Trent Forrest, who is the team’s leading returning scorer, led six players in double-figures with 19 points — on 7 of 10 shooting — and five assists. Sophomore guard Anthony Polite contributed 18 points, on 7 of 9 shooting including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, and three steals. Freshman Patrick Williams (12 points and 9 rebounds), a consensus five-star recruit, and 7-foot grad transfer Dominik Olejniczak (10 points and 5 rebounds) had strong first games.

Junior guard M.J. Walker, sophomore guard Devin Vassell, junior transfer Rayquan Evans, freshman forward Balsa Koprivica, and redshirt freshman guard Ty Hands did not play in the game. Coach Leonard Hamilton told Shem Rivera of 247 Sports that Walker and Vassell (torn hamstring) might miss more time.

FSU will host D-II Columbus State on Nov. 1 in another exhibition contest.

ACC Tidbits

  • This is Duke’s 115th basketball season. The Blue Devils are ranked in fourth in the preseason AP poll top 25, marking the 24th consecutive season that they have been ranked in the top 10, which is the longest current streak in the nation. They also have the longest active streak of being listed in the top 5 in the AP poll at 21 seasons.
  • Duke is one of three schools, along with Kansas and Gonzaga, to have won 25 or more games in each of the last 12 seasons. The Blue Devils reached the 30-win mark last year for the 15th time under Krzyzewski, which extended his NCAA record.
  • Duke’s Vernon Carey and UNC’s Armando Bacot were named to the watch list for the 2020  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
  • North Carolina will host D-II Winston-Salem State for an exhibition game on Nov. 1.
  • UNC’s Matthew Hurt, Louisville’s Jordan Nwora, and Syracuse’s Elijah Hughes are on the watch list for the 2020 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. Nwora has also been named to the Preseason All-American team and preseason ACC Player of the Year.

Next. ACC preseason rankings for 2019-20. dark

  • Syracuse hosts D-II Daemen College (NY) for an Oct. 26 exhibition.
  • Louisville will host D-II Bellarmine University (KY) on Oct. 29 for an exhibition game.
  • North Carolina State hosts D-II Mount Olive for an exhibition game on Oct. 27.
  • Pitt hosts D-II Slippery Rock on Oct. 30.