ESPN Classic has been replaying Florida State's upset win over North Carolina continuously the past several days, a game in which the Seminoles' stellar defense was on display. And though the Seminoles could not pull off another Tobacco Road victory, Florida State gave Duke all it could handle in a rowdy Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night.
"These are the games that make great years," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his team's 56-49 victory over the Seminoles, "if you can win them."
Despite being shut down offensively in the post by FSU's relentless frontcourt defense, the Blue Devils' were able to ride their stellar defensive efforts and one very crucial play by their team captain to claim the victory.
So as the producers at ESPN Classic undoubtedly relished in Seminole Alexander Johnson's layup and follow-up free throw to bring FSU within 10 point with 4:55 left in the second half, the momentum began to shift in favor of the Seminoles. The Seminole defense continued to push Duke's offense beyond the three point line and forced two shot clock violations within the next three minutes.
In the meantime, the Seminoles' offense went to work with two clutch three point shots from senior guard Tim Pickett, and a final three by Von Wafer to make it a matter of one possession with 1:05 remaining. Duke called a timeout to draw up what point guard Chris Duhon later described to be a pretty "regular" inbounds play.
"There's a low screen for Daniel [Ewing] to go into the corner, and after Shelden sets the screen high for me he goes and gets J.J. [Redick]," he said. "So, basically, it's basically for me to get in the paint and kick it out to Daniel or stop and wait for J.J. to come up top."
Ewing had been hot in the first half, and Redick had been leading the Blue Devils' offense all night--he finished with 24 points, 12 from beyond the three-point line. Early in the first half, Ewing drained baseline jumper and a long three from the top of the key to start up Duke's initial momentum. Redick, meanwhile, led the Blue Devils in an 8-0 first half run by draining two long-distance three point shots.
"We knew coming in that they really collapse on the post," said Williams, stymied all night by Florida's interior defense that did not allow him a single field goal. "When the post gets the ball there are going to be at least three guys coming down to collapse on the post. But we know that if they do that we have open three point shooters like J.J. and Daniel out on the wing."
"I got in a little rhythm," said Redick. "Chris found me a couple times. There were a couple of broken plays where I got an open look." In short, FSU's defense was not going to let either hot hitters open with 40 seconds left. So as Williams set the screen up high, the Seminoles' man-defense made a switch to smother Redick, leaving Duhon open coming off Williams' high screen. Duhon pulled up off the inbound pass and sunk a three point shot from the corner, making it a three-possession game with 38 seconds left. When Sean Dockery stole the next inbound pass and FSU was forced to foul, it was all over.
"To be a championship [team] you have to win games like this," Duhon said. "It's not going to be smooth sailing the whole time. We did an amazing job on the defensive end on Florida State not letting them get any momentum and holding them off just enough for us to win."
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