No. 6 Duke Visits FSU
Blue Devils Set for Only Third Road Game at Streaking Seminoles
Florida State has won its last three home games since a three-point loss to Syracuse. The Seminoles will be facing a Duke team that leads the ACC in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, assists and assist/turnover ratio. In other words, this is going to be one tough test for the Seminoles.
Duke has defeated Florida State five straight times but only one of those wins came at Florida State, and that was a two-point win for the Blue Devils in 2019.
Florida State is 6-1 at home while this will be just the third true road game for Duke.
Duke (-165) is the overwhelming choice to win the ACC title while Florida State, which was challenging the Blue Devils for the best ACC championship odds coming into the season, has dropped to a tie for fourth at +1200. Duke (+150) is tied for the second-best odds to reach the Final Four, trailing only Gonzaga. Florida State’s current odds are +2000.
Duke’s Paolo Banchero (+850) is tied for the fourth-best odds to be named national player of the year.
Game: Duke (14-2) at Florida State (10-5)
Location: Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Florida
Day/Time: Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Duke Blue Devils at Florida State Seminoles
Loss to Miami a Wake-up Call
Just in case anybody forgot what an unpredictable season we are in the midst of, seeing nine ranked teams fall on Saturday is a perfect reminder that there is rarely a dull moment when the college basketball world navigates through a COVID-19 world.
Nobody has to remind the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils of that
The Blue Devils had their final scheduled game of 2021 postponed, and in Duke’s second game of 2022, the Miami Hurricanes came to Cameron Indoor Stadium and escaped with a two-point win.
Duke responded with double-digit wins at Wake Forest and at home against North Carolina State. The wins weren’t enough to put Duke back into first place in the ACC standings but did bring some mojo back to the team’s players.
Banchero and Mark Williams combined for 40 points and 19 rebounds, with Williams, the ACC leader in blocked shots, swatting eight NC State shots in the win.
“I think we really stressed the importance of protecting the rim,” Williams said after the North Carolina State win. (NC State is) a team that likes to drive to the basket a lot, so think that was just something to really focus on. I think Trevor (Keels) had like nine assists – he was finding me a lot in good spots on the floor and I was able to convert. On the offensive glass, being able to give our team extra possessions was important.
“I think we’re starting to get back into a rhythm again. We had the COVID pause and we’re just getting back into a flow. And, obviously, last time in Cameron (vs. Miami) we didn’t win so we didn’t want that to happen again.”
Duke has covered against the college basketball spreads in six of its last eight games.
No Place Like Home for Florida State
The last time Florida State played at home, the Seminoles defeated rival Miami for the eighth time in a row thanks to a pair of foul shots with less than a second left by RayQuan Evans. The win was extra sweet since Miami was coming off an upset of Duke.
So what is better than beating the team that just toppled the mighty Blue Devils? How about taking down Duke as well.
Florida State, which challenged Duke in the top spot in the ACC’s preseason odds and polls, will get that opportunity on Tuesday.
The Seminoles have won 80 of their last 85 home games, including 27 of 28 ACC home games.
Florida State has won three consecutive home games since a three-point loss to Syracuse on a nightmarish shooting performance. The Seminoles were just 4 of 30 from three-point range. The success from three-point range has come and gone in the last three home games and now the Seminoles will play a Duke team that is second in the ACC in three-point defense.
If Florida State learned one thing in the loss to Syracuse, it was to not be so reliant on the three-point shot for offense. That approach will be pivotal when Duke comes to town.
“We were able to get into the lane, draw some fouls and make some plays,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said after the Miami win. “When I mentally look back at the game, I thought everyone made winning plays. I look at the stats and I think everyone contributed in some way during the course of this game. I always say that our system is built around winning games by committing and I thought that was very obvious (against the Hurricanes).”
Florida State is just 3-7 against the Las Vegas odds in its last 10 games.
Defensive Showdown
While there will be plenty of players on both teams capable of making key shots, the defense played by Duke and Florida State should not be overlooked. They do it in different ways as Duke leads the ACC with an average of six blocked shots per game while Florida State is the conference leader with an average of 9.7 steals.
One of the big questions is the availability of Malik Osborne, Florida State’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. Osborne was seen in a walking boot before the rematch with Syracuse and he did not play in that game. Those who bet online will certainly be keeping tabs on whether Osborne will be able to play in this one.
No Malik Osborne today for #FSU. He’s in a boot, dealing with the ankle injury he had been playing through.
Naheem McLeod will start in his place.
— Curt Weiler (@CurtMWeiler) January 15, 2022
Duke is just 4-12 against the spread in its last 16 road games.
If Osborne was completely healthy, going with the host Seminoles would make sense, but Duke has made a habit of going on the road and taking down its toughest conference foes. That could happen here as well.
