There was some trepidation going into the game against Florida State with the possibility of the Blue Devils being without Grayson Allen and Amile Jefferson. In what could have the final game for the duo and possibly 5 other Blue Devils I couldn’t imagine they wouldn’t play. They did. Allen played 16 minutes and Jefferson 31.
It was Jefferson who would truly impact the game, going 6 for 6 from the floor for 14 points and 11 rebounds. The senior even added 4 blocks for a stat stuffing performance in from of the home crowd. The night belonged to, in addition to the seniors, to a freshman named Frank Jackson who had his coming out party. Jackson exploded on the offensive end of the floor for a season high 22 points, going 8-15 and 3-4 from beyond the arc. Jackson used his athleticism to get to elevate at the rim for several high wire plays that wowed the home crowd. Duke also got 17 from sophomore Luke Kennard and 15 from Jayson Tatum who was 1 rebound shy of a double-double.
Duke established a lead in the first half that they would maintained throughout the second half although Florida State pulled to 71-63 on 2 Dwayne Bacon free throw with 2:23 left in the game. After Freshman Jonathan Isaac missed a 3 pointer Duke rebounded the miss and began to milk the clock.
- Duke battled Florida State evenly on the boards (38)
- Duke had 18 points off of turnovers to 9 by FSU
- Duke shot 45.5% from 3 in the second half
