Duke To Host Florida State For Their Atlantic Coast Conference Home Opener

Duke returns  to the court Saturday afternoon  for their Atlantic Coast Conference home opener  as they host Florida State.

Duke comes into this game with a record of 12-1 while they're 0-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference."according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/150/duke-blue-devils

No. 4 Duke, which is unbeaten at home this season and has won five straight ACC home games, welcomes No. 24 Florida State Saturday afternoon.

• Duke has won 10 straight ACC home openers and is 28-9 in ACC home openers under Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils have dropped just one ACC home opener since 1995-96.
• Duke is the only team ranked among the NCAA’s top 10 in scoring (94.2; 2nd), rebounds (44.7; 3rd) and assists (20.8; 1st). The Blue Devils also lead the nation in rebound margin (+12.8) and are sixth in scoring margin (+21.7).
• Freshman Marvin Bagley III (21.2 ppg; 2nd ACC) and senior Grayson Allen (17.1 ppg; 6th ACC) lead five Blue Devils in double figures. Bagley leads the ACC in rebounding (10.9) and is second in the NCAA with 10 double-doubles.
• Duke is 36-10 all-time versus Florida State, which includes a 20-2 record at home (19-2 at Cameron Indoor Stadium). Under Coach K, the Blue Devils are 43-9 in the series.
• The last meeting came on February 28, 2017 in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils took a 75-70 win behind Frank Jackson’s 22 points.
• Florida State has won 11 of its first 12 games of the season for the second consecutive year. Saturday’s contest will be the ACC opener for the Seminoles.
• Terance Mann (15.1 ppg) and Phil Cofer (13.4 ppg) are the top two scorers for Florida State while Braian Angola is also averaging double-figures in scoring (11.7 ppg).

The Seminoles are ranked in the top-15 nationally in field goal percentage defense (tied for 12th; .375) and blocked shots per game (15th; 6.2 bpg). "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211690921&DB_OEM_ID=4200

As for Duke's last outing they beat Evansville on Wednesday December 20th.

Fourth-ranked Duke had 11 days to dwell on the loss that cost the Blue Devils their No. 1 ranking -- and more importantly, 11 days to finally spend some quality time on the practice court. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

They wasted no time taking out their frustrations on Evansville."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Duke routed the Purple Aces 104-40 on Wednesday night behind a season-best 27 points from freshman Wendell Carter Jr. -- who said the team practiced every day during the break. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Practice time was scarce before that, with the Blue Devils playing 12 games and criss-crossing the country from Nov. 10-Dec. 9. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

"We just zeroed in on what we need to do as a team, and we just practiced that," Carter said. "Everybody got familiar with what we're going to do as a team, no matter what." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Marvin Bagley III added 18 points and Grayson Allen finished with 16 to help the Blue Devils (12-1) bounce back from their lone loss with one of their best defensive performances of the season. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Duke blocked nine shots, forced a season-best 21 turnovers and turned them into 39 points against a slow-paced Evansville team. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Dainius Chatkevicius had 12 points to lead the Purple Aces (10-3), who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Evansville entered allowing an average of 61.9 points per game. The Blue Devils nearly had that at halftime, leading 58-18 the break. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Gary Trent Jr. scored 13 points to help Duke put this one out of reach early. The Blue Devils needed just 13 1/2 minutes to build a 20-point lead and 2 1/2 more minutes to go up by 30. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

They hit 12 of their first 16 3-point attempts and finished with a season-high 16 3s after shooting 27 percent from long range in the 89-84 loss at Boston College on Dec. 9. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

BIG PICTURE

Evansville: The Purple Aces like to play slowly -- frequently milking the shot clock into the low teens or longer before taking their first shot or, more often, stumbling into a turnover -- and that deliberate style worked against them as the Blue Devils methodically stretched their lead into the 20s and well beyond. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

"We got no excuses," coach Marty Simmons said of a team missing key scorers Ryan Taylor and Dru Smith. "We knew what we were getting ready to play. We just didn't do a good enough job as coaches, as players. They took us out of everything we wanted to do. We couldn't get into anything." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Duke: The Blue Devils had 11 days to stew on the loss that knocked them from No. 1. Duke allowed the Eagles to hit 15 3-pointers in that game, but clamped down against an Evansville team that makes 49.4 percent of its 3s -- the best in Division I. Evansville was just 5 of 14 from long range. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

INJURY REPORT

Not that he was needed in the slightest, but the Blue Devils played without injured sophomore forward Javin DeLaurier, after coach Mike Krzyzewski said he had a tight hamstring. Big man Marques Bolden and freshman guards Alex O'Connell and Jordan Goldwire were the first players off the bench for the Blue Devils. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

STAR WATCH

Don't sleep on Carter's long-range touch. The freshman big man entered with three 3-pointers all season and surpassed that in this one, hitting 4 of 7 from long range. That was a big part of the season-best nine field goals he hit. "We kind of rolled the dice," Simmons said, "and he made us pay." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211690510

Florida State who is ranked twenty fourth in the AP Top 25 poll "according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings  comes into this game with a record of 11-1 "according to http://seminoles.com/sports/basketball/schedule/season/2017-18/ haven won their last game against Southern Miss on Thursday December 21st.

Leonard Hamilton did things a little differently after Florida State’s win over Charleston Southern earlier this week. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Rather than have his assistants break down film and prepare the post-game report, he instead put that responsibility on his players. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

And despite having overcome a slow start to emerge with a double-digit win, they didn’t always like what they saw. ":according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

“It showed a lot of mistakes, a lot of things we could have done better defensively and offensively,” sophomore guard Trent Forest said. “It’s a totally different view. You can see ‘I didn’t do this – why didn’t I do this?’ … It gave us a totally different perspective.” "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Turns out a fresh perspective might have been just what FSU needed. Because after back-to-back games that left them feeling unsatisfied, the Seminoles looked like a fresh, renewed team during a 98-45 rout of Southern Mississippi on Thursday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Center. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

FSU (11-1) shot better than 56 percent from the field, fell one 3-pointer shy of a school record and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 42-28. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

It was the Seminoles’ second win over Southern Miss (7-5) in as many seasons, having topped USM 98-49 on Dec. 6, 2016. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

“It seems like just a little over a year ago I was kind of in this same situation and told you I’d probably never be back,” Southern Miss coach Doc Sadler said. “Well, I can promise you I won’t be after this. Wow. Leonard’s got such a good basketball team and, where we’re at, it’s just too tough for us.” "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

The Seminoles flexed their muscles up and down the court on Thursday, but did most of their heavy lifting from the 3-point line. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Paced by a breakout performance from junior sharpshooter P.J. Savoy, FSU was a staggering 19 of 36 from the perimeter and would have tied a 10-year-old school record for made 3s had Will Miles connected on buzzer-beater at the end of the game. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Savoy did all of his damage from distance, finishing 5 of 10 from the field and with game-highs in points (17) and rebounds (7). "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

On a day when pretty much everything went right for FSU, seeing Savoy break out of a mini-slump – he’d scored in double-figures just once this season – might have been the most encouraging sign. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

“It was great to see PJ back,” senior guard Braian Angola said. “He’s going to be scary the rest of the year.” "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

The same might go for Forrest, who did a little bit of everything against the Golden Eagles. He had seven points, six rebounds and an ACC-high 12 assists in only 18 minutes of work. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

For coach Leonard Hamilton, it was the latest sign that Forrest has returned to form after working his way back from a preseason knee injury. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

“He has such a winner’s mentality,” Hamilton said. “All he wants to do is make the right decision to help us win games, and I thought you saw a lot of that today. He passed up a lot of shots to create opportunities for his teammates.” "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Those teammates made the most of their chances. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Freshmen MJ Walker (5 for 7) and Mfiondu Kabengele (5 for 5) combined for 27 points, while Cofer and Angola each added nine. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

And as the Seminoles’ lead ballooned in the second half, Hamilton emptied his bench andwhich allowed 13 different players to find the scoresheet. Seldom-used reserves Wyatt Wilkes, Justin Lindner, Harrison Prieto, Travis Light and Will Miles then closed out the final three minutes of the game. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Light thrilled the crowd, his teammates and even USM’s Sadler by knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers, while Prieto added a layup that pushed the Seminoles to their second-highest point total of the season. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

“The only thing positive, I guess, that I can take away from here is to see their bench get so excited for the guys that don’t get to play very much,” Sadler said. “That’s special. When you’ve got guys over there in the last two or three minutes and their teammates are really cheering (them) on because those guys don’t get to play much, that tells me that they’ve got an unbelievable culture. They’re pulling for each other. And, as a coach, that’s kind of neat.” "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Hamilton found plenty more positives, but chief among them was that the Seminoles were dialed in and focused for a full game. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Given that FSU’s non-conference slate is over and a date at No. 4 Duke lies ahead on Dec. 30, that might turn out to be the longtime coach’s favorite Christmas gift this year. "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

“Today, we were consistent for 40 minutes,” Hamilton said. “While we’re still a work in progress, today is one of those days I thought we took a step in the right direction.” "according to http://seminoles.com/hot-shooting-noles-dominate-southern-miss-98-45/

Tip-off is set for 2:00pm from Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS. "according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=1845&SPSID=22726