FSU battles Duke to the wire, loses a close one

Florida State (7-8, 0-2) played easily their best game since the early season tilt with UF, but couldn’t quite close the deal against the 6th ranked Duke Blue Devils (13-1, 2-0), losing 91-87 in a game that

was tense throughout. Coming in as 16.5 point underdogs, Florida State actually led for more time than Duke, 19:45 vs 17:02, committed fewer turnovers, and outshot Duke from the field and the perimeter. The Blue Devils, however, made 23 of 25 free throws and seemingly had an answer every possession Florida State needed a stop down the stretch.

First Half

The Seminoles came out flame throwing from deep, with Robert McCray V, Lajae Jones, and Martin Somerville all swishing open threes to give FSU an 11-8 lead at the first TV timeout. Coach Loucks employed a four-guard lineup against the bigger Blue Devils, betting that the perimeter shooting would wake up at home and at least for the start of this one the bet paid off. Somerville banged in his second three of the game just out of the timeout and Kobe MaGee followed up with one of his own, giving Florida State a 17-11 just over five minutes in, with the ‘Noles 5-6 from deep.

On the other end, Duke took advantage of the size mismatch by grabbing 3 offensive rebounds on their first six misses while also drawing five fouls in the opening eight minutes. But the Seminoles hot shooting gave them a 20-16 lead with 11:49 left in the opening half.

As is often the case, the three point shooting cooled off when the shot attempts devolved. Thomas Bassong hoisted two rushed ones, neither from his preferred spot in the corner, and both clanked. Fellow freshman Cam Miles followed suit with a step-back three off the dribble that was well off the mark. Just like that, FSU went from 5-6 to 5-10 from beyond the arc. However, the freshmen helped maintain the lead by making an impact at the other end. Bassong harassed possible National Player of the Year Cameron Boozer all over the court, forcing him to make a tough pass to a teammate being hounded by Miles. MaGee took advantage of the freshmen duo’s play, grabbed the steal, and rewarded a streaking Bassong for the dunk and a 24-18 FSU lead.

With 9:19 left in the half, Boozer hit a high degree of difficulty jumper to make it 24-20. FSU’s lead would remain between one and five points until the 1:15 mark, in a fantastic display of back and forth basketball. Duke did damage at the rim and the free throw line, going a perfect 8-8 from the stripe in the first half. But every time the Blue Devils appeared poised to snag the lead, Florida State kept them at buy with a timely bucket. Chauncey Wiggins seemed to especially thrive in the moment. Three different times FSU’s margin stood at two (24-22, 28-26, 37-35) and all three times Wiggins splashed one from deep.

The visitors from Durham finally were able to tie up the game at 40, but Miles ensured the Blue Devils wouldn’t have a chance to take the lead by making a tough layup through contact at the other end. Duke tied it again at 42 and MaGee’s three rimmed out just before the horn, sending the teams to the locker room all square.

Second Half

After fending off Duke for an entire half, the Blue Devils opened the second by grabbing their first lead of the game on a corner three. One minute later the lead grew to five after a pair of free throws that gave Somerville his 4th foul and FSU fans had to be wondering if the avalanche was coming as it has so often this season.

McCray V had other ideas.

The senior scored the next seven FSU points from all three levels, single-handedly keeping FSU in the game. Wiggins, sensing the moment, ignited the crowd with his 4th three pointer to give FSU a 52-51 lead. Duke raced down the court to take the lead right back on a dunk, but a Wiggins tip-in snatched it back again. FSU got a stop and fastbreak opportunity, which MaGee cashed with a deep three, pushing the Seminoles margin out to 57-53.

The two teams exchanged baskets before Duke ripped off a quick 4-0 run to tie the game at 59. This was followed by more back and forth basketball, before sophomore Isaiah Evans connected on back-to-back threes (the second coming immediately after a tough no-call at FSU’s end when Alier Maluk hit the ground hard) to put Duke out in front by five once again. MaGee briefly cut the deficit back to three with a nice drive and finish, but as the game wore on the talent disparity started to shine through. The 6’9 freshmen duo of Boozer and Dame Sarr relentless pounded the interior against the smaller Seminoles, finishing at the rim and drawing fouls. Boozer’s free throw with 6:23 left put Duke up 8 and seemingly in full control.

FSU kept fighting though. Wiggins scored his 20th point with a comfortable turn-around jumper from the elbow. Down on the other end, MaGee showed great hustle diving into the stands to save a loose ball, giving FSU a transition opportunity and ended up back in MaGee’s hands for a three-ball corner pocket that whipped the crowd into a frenzy and brought FSU to within three, 75-72. Evans played the role Wiggins occupied in the first half, hitting big three after big three every time FSU got close, including one that pushed it to 85-78 with just over two minutes left. However, the ‘Noles battled back, whittling it down to 85-82 on a McCray V three with 53 seconds remaining.

Needing one stop, Duke went inside to Boozer as they had all game. Drawing the double team, a late whistle gave the big man two free throws and pushed the lead out to five once again. MaGee hit a three to keep the dream alive, but two more Duke free throws iced the game for good.

Box Score and Takeaways

Chief of the Court – I typically only award these in victory, but FSU played well enough in this one for several guys to earn a shoutout. So, while I suspect he would hate the “moral victory” spirit, I’ll give this one to Couch Loucks. His first season hasn’t gone as he hoped or even expected and FSU has flat out quit in a couple games, but he had this team well-prepared and mentally locked-in to execute a game plan against vastly superior talented team.

Any team is better when it makes shots, but Coach Loucks has called this squad specifically for playing much tougher basketball when early shots fall. That was certainly the case in this one. FSU’s body language looked confident from the opening tip and never waned even when Duke made Duke plays. The question remains: can these guys buckle down and win a game with great effort despite an off night from the perimeter? That’s going to have to answered another day.
This is the best game Kobe MaGee has played this season and not coincidentally it was FSU’s best game this season. It wasn’t just his shot making, he made several big plays on defense, and grabbed a couple of timely rebounds. He was a pretty big acquisition for the first year head coach and I think even MaGee would say he’s not played up to anyone’s expectations this season. If this ends up being a true breakout game for him, FSU might surprise some ACC foes.
Will the real Chauncey Wiggins please stand up? At times the senior transfer floats and seems disinterested in playing at the level his potential suggests is possible. Then there’s games like today where he is a menace at both ends and ties his career high with 22.
Duke came into the game ranked 237th in the country from the free throw line, barely making 70%. They shot 23-25 in this one and it won them the game.