DUKE 64, FLORIDA STATE 58 :3.9 2nd Half: That should just about actually do it now. The Seminoles took nearly 20 seconds on their previous possession to shoot a three, and by then even if it had gone in it wouldn't have mattered. Scheyer will shoot two to get the final score set.
DUKE 64, FLORIDA STATE 55, :27 2nd Half: Duke continues to split its free throws, but Florida State has also begun to draw iron as time runs down on the Seminoles. They've missed three of their past four shots down the stretch here.
DUKE 63, FLORIDA STATE 55 :48.5 2nd Half: Douglas just fouled out for the Seminoles, removing one of their best players from the floor. Singler to the line for two free throws.
DUKE 63, FLORIDA STATE 55 1:01 2nd Half: Normally, you'd think sending Scheyer to the line would be an automatic free two points. But strangely enough, he only converted one free throw on each trip, and thanks to the hot shooting of Derwin Kitchen, the Seminoles are back within eight for the first time since the very beginning of the second half.
DUKE 61, FLORIDA STATE 50 1:49 2nd Half: Henderson continues to shine in the clutch, nailing a clutch pull up jumper with the clock winding down to push Duke's lead to 12. Echefu has failed out for Florida State, who will probably have to rely on intentionally fouling now to keep its hopes alive.
DUKE 57, FLORIDA STATE 48 3:00 2nd Half: And now it's getting interesting. Lance Thomas just picked up his fourth foul, meaning two of Duke's best forwards--Singler and Thomas--will have to play mistake free from here on out. The Blue Devils just had to burn a timeout because of the Seminoles' full-court press and have gone into stall mode on offense. Whether it burns enough time to maintain the ever-decreasing lead remains to be seen.
DUKE 55, FLORIDA STATE 44 3:53 2nd Half: Who has prevented Florida State from making this a two-possession game? Answer: The man who nearly outscored the entire Seminoles team the entire first half. Henderson came up with two clutch field goals to give the Blue Devils some breathing room, but, as we've learned in the past 10 minutes, this game is far from over. The shots have started to fall for Florida State, so it's going to be on the Duke offense to get some points. Our guess? If they can get to 65, the Blue Devils should be fine.
DUKE 50, FLORIDA STATE 40 6:30 2nd Half: Just like that, we have a game. The sloppy play from the first half has reared its ugly head again at the worst possible time for Duke as it turns the ball over three times. Singler has come back in the game, and the Blue Devils have a test on their hands.
DUKE 49, FLORIDA STATE 34 7:59 2nd Half: The Seminoles won't go without a fight. Four points from Uche Echefu and a crowd-raising three from Douglas has gotten fans back into the game. Three free throws from the Blue Devils account for their points since our last post, and freshman Elliot Williams is about to shoot two more coming out of the TV timeout.
DUKE 46, FLORIDA STATE 29 9:50 2nd Half: Perhaps we spoke too soon. Although the lead is still relatively comfortable, Florida State is currently on an 8-0 run and Singler has just picked up his fourth foul. It will be interesting to see how Duke works on offense without his versatility as he takes a seat for the time being.
DUKE 46, FLORIDA STATE 25 11:16 2nd Half: The offensive surge continues. Singler has nailed two three pointers while Smith had a nice coast-to-coast layup and one to increase Duke's dominance in this second half. Barring a miraculous comeback by Florida State--and while we did almost see one from Davidson Wednesday, no one for the Seminoles has anywhere near the talent of Stephen Curry--the question is not if, but by how much the Blue Devils will win by at this point.
DUKE 33, FLORIDA STATE 17 15:58 2nd Half: Think the players got the message? That is, in fact, the actual score. After a horrendous first half, Duke has scored nearly as many points in the previous four minutes as the entire opening period. On all of their possesions, the Blue Devils have scored and have only missed one shot--a Nolan Smith three-pointer that wound up in the hands of Brian Zoubek, who was fouled and converted both free throws. Henderson leads the charge with an incredible alley-oop dunk from Smith and a three as he still has outscored the Seminoles by himself.
DUKE 19, FLORIDA STATE 14 HALFTIME: That was about as ugly a half as you'll ever see in any college basketball game, let alone a bad Duke day. Only Henderson and Singler have scored from the field--and Singler's shot came courtesey of a goaltending call on Florida State. As bad as the Blue Devils are shooting--5-of-20 to be exact--the Seminoles are actually worse, having hit 7-of-34 field goals. Other key stats from an exceptionally brutal first half:
LEADING SCORERS FOR DUKE: Henderson 14, Singler 2, Scheyer 2, Thomas 1
TURNOVERS AND POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Duke 8, 9; Florida State 9, 8.
BENCH POINTS: Duke 1, Florida State 0
So what does Duke need to do better in the second half? Plain and simple, execute. The defensive effort is there as the Seminoles only easy shots have come off bad turnovers on the offensive side for the Blue Devils. But if some of those shots can start falling and Duke can take more threes this half (it only had six this past period) it should be able to pull away for a comfortable, if not pretty, victory.
DUKE 17, FLORIDA STATE 14 3:13 1st Half: Henderson is about the only reason the Blue Devils are in this game. He's scored 14 of the team's 17 points, and the remaining three have come off of free throws from Lance Thomas and Jon Scheyer. Halfcourt sets are just not working for Duke, but strong defense has allowed it to take the lead. Only a couple of transition baskets have garnered Florida State points.
FLORIDA STATE 10, DUKE 10 7:36 1st Half: In this case, a good defense really is the best offense. Not only has Florida State failed to score since the last TV timeout, they've turned the ball over three times and Kyle Singler managed to block a Seminole fast-break layup. Those three turnovers led to all of Duke's points, allowing it to tie the game. So far, however, the Blue Devils have managed just one score in their halfcourt offense, something that surely needs to change if they want the best shot of winning.
FLORIDA STATE 10, DUKE 5 11:58 1st Half: Apparently not. Solomon Alabi has punished Duke inside with two putbacks and the Blue Devils continue to play sloppy basketball with two turnovers on their past two possessions. That has this crowd loud and feeling the possibility of an upset grow stronger. Granted it is still early, but the energy and momentum is definitely with the Seminoles right now.
FLORIDA STATE 6, DUKE 5 13:45 1st Half: The game's still been sloppy but we have our first "overrated" chant of the day. Jason Williams used to thrive off that chant and punish opponents--it's what kickstarted that 10-point comeback against Maryland in 2001. Could we see a similar effort from a Blue Devil today?
FLORIDA STATE 4, DUKE 3 15:56 1st Half: It's been a slow start for both teams here in the early going. After missing it's first two shots, Duke gets on the board when Gerald Henderson hits a trey from the corner off a Jon Scheyer drive-and-kick. Both sides have been sloppy with the ball, but Toney Douglas has carried the Seminoles with two shots from the elbow. The Blue Devils don't necessarily look tired, just a little carefree with the ball.
PREGAME: The crowd has come out in full force for what many are predicting could be a trap game for Duke. The student section has been roudy and obnoxious from the start, trying to get under the players' skin ever since we sat down about 30 minutes before tipoff. It will be interesting to see how the Blue Devils handle just their third true road game of the year--so far, they've won convincingly at Purdue and lost equally convincingly to Michigan. The difference in those contests? Against the Boilermakers, Duke shot 36.4 percent from beyond the arc; versus the Wolverines, only 21.2 percent. Weary road legs that just came off a tough victory against Davidson could play a large role in how many of those long-range shots fall through the net.
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