LIVE BLOG: No. 1 Duke vs. Florida State

FINAL, No. 1 Duke 61, Florida State 66

In then end, Singler's clutch shooting couldn't save a Duke squad that shot poorly from the field and had no offense in the paint.  Duke has been handed their first loss of the season by a ferocious and athletic FSU squad.  The Blue Devils came out flat and weren't shooting well from the field, and their usually impenetrable defense was overshadowed by a career performance from Derwin Kitchen.  Also, the Blue Devils never had a presence down low on offense at any point in the game, and they suffered the consequences.

2:26 2nd Half, No. 1 Duke 58, Florida State 59

You can cut the tension with a knife in here.  The Seminoles want to finish the upset of the year, and the Blue Devils don't want to see their perfect season come to an end.  Smith hit a three, but Duke remains down by one.

3:21 2nd Half, No. 1 Duke 54, Florida State 59

The Blue Devils continue to chip away at the lead with free throws from Smith and Curry and a bucket from Dawkins, but the Seminoles refuse to back down.  Michael Snaer and Kitchen each added two for the Seminoles, and Singleton hit a three from the top of the key that sent the crowd into a frenzy.  Kitchen has 20 points and Singleton has 16 for the Seminoles.  With just over three minutes left, the Blue Devils are down by five.

7:01 2nd Half, No. 1 Duke 48, Florida State 52

This game is turning into as battle as both teams are getting physical and aggressive.  Andre Dawkins hit three free throws and Singler made two more clutch treys to tie up the game.  But Derwin Kitchen is too hot.  Kitchen drained another three from the top of the key for the Seminoles, and then followed with an And-1.  Singler continues to hit shots when the Blue Devils need them most, and if it weren't for him, this game would be completely out of reach for Duke.

Halftime, No. 1 Duke 24, Florida State 28

Despite an excellent play in which Singler dove to the floor and heaved a pass from his back to Smith who nailed a trey, the Blue Devils were unable to hang on to the lead before the half.  Derwin Kitchen hit a three for the Seminoles, and Bernard James followed with a dunk and then a put back off a rebound.  FSU heads into the locker room with a four point lead over the No. 1 team in the country.

Duke is losing because they are shooting a miserable 28.1% from the field.  Smith is leading the Blue Devils with nine points, but he is 4-11 shooting.  The Blue Devils have been able to hit clutch threes that kept them in this game, but they have been unable to get into a rhythm on offense.  With no dominant force down low, Smith is often sitting at the top of the key, waiting for a play to develop but unable to find a target down low or a lane to drive.  The Seminoles have risen to the occasion thus far, and the Blue Devils will need to either get hot from behind the arc or get the Plumlees involved in the paint to win this contest.

3:57 1st Half, No. 1 Duke 21, Florida State 21

These two conference foes continue to battle for the lead.  Curry finally hit a three to put Duke on top, but FSU's Bernard James answered with a powerful dunk that brought this crowd to its feet.  Smith hit a routine jumper to tie the game.

6:33 1st Half, No. 1 Duke 16, Florida State 17

The Blue Devils seemed to have found their stroke.  FSU committed a sloppy turnover and Ryan Kelly hit a trey to tie up the game.  Then Andre Dawkins hit a three from the corner to give the Blue Devils a three point advantage.  Singleton leads FSUwith eight points, most of which have come from the free throw line.  Apart from Singleton, FSU is having trouble scoring on offense, shooting only 37.5% from the field.  However, just before the timeout, Seminole Okaro White threw down a ferocious slam dunk to put FSU back on top.

11:57 1st Half, No. 1 Duke 8, Florida State 11

Duke is being pushed around down low.  Despite a defensive lapse that allowed Smith to drive the lane for an easy two, Duke is not penetrating on offense.  FSU is playing smothering defense and if the Blue Devils fail to get hot from 3-point range, they are going to have to score from the post.  Being No. 1 in the country means you get every team's best effort, and once again Duke is down early to an ACC opponent.

15:12 1st Half, No. 1 Duke 6, Florida State 9

The Seminoles set the tempo in the game early as Chris Singleton drove to the hoop for an easy bucket on the first possession. After Kyle Singler turned the ball over at half court, Singleton made a nice pass down low and the Seminoles picked up two shots, but were unable to sink them.  Nolan Smith put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard by draining a deep two, but they have been cold from beyond the arc so far, as Seth Curry and Singler are 0-for-2 on 3-point attempts.  Luke Loucks hit a trey for FSU to put them ahead by three.

Pregame:

Hello everyone and welcome to The Chronicle's Live Blog of tonight's ACC matchup between the undefeated No. 1 Duke Blue Devils and the Florida State Seminoles.  This past Sunday, Duke looked vulnerable for the first time this season against the Maryland Terrapins but edged out a victory.  Nolan Smith struggled from the field, but Kyle Singler picked up the slack with a double-double, and Seth Curry and Tyler Thornton came off the bench and helped the Blue Devils overcome a six-point deficit in the second half.

Tonight Duke is looking to come out strong and put away a FSU team that is 11-5 and has lost three of their last four. However the Seminoles are big, athletic and could potentially pose a threat to the Blue Devils if they are able to push around the Plumlees and Ryan Kelly in the paint.  FSU is led by forward Chris Singleton who has come alive in the past four games, averaging 21.8 points and 9.3 rebounds.

Starters:

Duke

#12  Kyle Singler   Forward

#21  Miles Plumlee   Forward

#34  Ryan Kelly   Forward

#2  Nolan Smith   Guard

#30  Seth Curry   Guard

FSU

#5  Bernard James   Forward

#31  Chris Singleton   Forward

#5  Terrance Shannon   Forward

#21  Michael Snaer   Guard

#22  Derwin Kitchen   Guard