Nobody would have guessed yesterday that Duke had lost to North Carolina only three days prior. Yesterday a confident, better-shooting and fresh Duke team defeated Florida State, 100-58, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
One of the brightest spots in the game for Duke was its defense. The Blue Devils held the Seminoles to only 24 points in the first half and 34 in the second. This coupled with the fact that Duke was 8-for-8 on free throws in the first half, which made for a difficult time for the 'Noles.
"I was proud of the way our team came out and played defense today," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Having two emotional games like we've had with Maryland and North Carolina.... We had a great practice yesterday, but you still wonder if they have the juice to play with the intensity, and they did and that was very good for us. Our defense was outstanding."
Offensively in the first half, Duke took some time to warm up to the Seminoles' defense, allowing FSU to take some leads very early in the game. The Seminoles held the lead over Duke until there was 9:30 left in the game, when Jason Williams hit a three-pointer to give Duke the lead 17-16. It did not take long for the rest of the Blue Devils to follow suit.
"We didn't shoot well [in the first minutes of the
Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier were the point leaders for Duke. Boozer finished the game with 23 points, while Battier had 21 on the game despite not feeling well yesterday.
"Shane was under the weather today, he's sick and he could hardly talk," Krzyzewski said. "Which, I think, in some ways I think was good for us because it made other people talk."
One of those other people was Williams, who showed his defensive skills yesterday against FSU. The sophomore has averaged 24.4 points in his last 15 games, and although his eight points yesterday were a season-low, Williams still managed to tally 10 assists, six steals and only two turnovers.
"For him to learn that he can have that kind of impact on a game without really shooting the ball-he didn't shoot the ball very much-was good," said Krzyzewski, who called Williams' performance one of his best of the season. "It was a really great effort by our kids."
The Blue Devils closed the half with an 18-5 run for a 17-point lead at the break. ACC freshman of the year candidate Michael Joiner was relatively quiet yesterday for FSU, as were Antwuan Dixon and Nigel Dixon. Joiner and Nigel Dixon each only had two points. Antwuan Dixon finished the game with seven points, one assist and four rebounds.
Mike Dunleavy showed up on offense in yesterday's game, going 9-for-16 with 18 points on the day. Dunleavy also tallied two assists and two turnovers.
"We played really well together as a team today and everybody made the extra pass and ran the floor really well," Dunleavy said.
At the end of the game, Williams made an announcement to erase any confusion about his future at Duke.
"I'm not going to the NBA this year," Williams said. "I plan to get my degree. Everybody keeps asking me questions about it, and I just want to stop all the stuff going around. I'm coming back to Duke next year. This is where I want to be.
"Getting my degree is something that is very special to me and to my mother and father. This is what I came to school for. When it's time to go, it's time to go, but I'm getting my degree first. I believe so much in Coach K, and when it's time for me to leave, he'll let me know."
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