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Duke had little trouble winning its ACC opener at home last weekend. The No. 2 Blue Devils could face a tougher challenge in their first road game in league play when they meet Florida State on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Devils (13-1, 1-0) rolled to a 69-44 victory over Virginia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday in their conference opener. However, that win came against a Hokies team which has one of the ACC’s worst overall records and only one victory over a major conference team.
The Seminoles (13-2), meanwhile, already have beaten one ranked opponent, 57-55 over then-No. 23 Florida on Dec. 7, and are one of the few teams to come close to knocking off current No. 1 Pittsburgh. That game was tied with a minute to play on Dec. 21 before the Seminoles fell 56-48, but that’s their only defeat in the last seven games.
Plus, Florida State upset a Duke team that was ranked in the top 10— including No. 1 in 2006—in the previous two meetings before losing last season’s matchup 70-57. However, the Seminoles held the lead in that game with under four minutes to play.
That game, like this one, opened the Blue Devils’ ACC road schedule, and they went on to a 6-2 record away from home in league play.
“The ACC is very exciting,” Duke sophomore Kyle Singler said. “The crowd knows it; the opponent knows it and games just kick up a little.”
Duke returns to conference play after winning 79-67 at home over preseason All-American Stephen Curry and Davidson on Wednesday. The Blue Devils never trailed and managed to hold off a late Davidson charge led by Curry, the nation’s leading scorer who finished with 29 points.
“It’s a special team that can be able to do that, to throw different guys at you and not miss a beat,” Curry said after committing seven of Davidson’s 17 turnovers against Duke, which allowed an opponent to score more than 60 points for just the fifth time this season.
Jon Scheyer and Singler each scored 22 points to lead the Blue Devils, who are 1-1 in true road games this season. They lost 81-73 at Michigan on Dec. 6, four days after beating then-No. 9 Purdue 76-60 in West Lafayette, Ind.
Scheyer had 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting versus the Seminoles last season. Singler, meanwhile, was held to 10 against Florida State, but the 6-foot-8 forward is averaging a team-leading 16.9 points on the season and 20.3 in his last three contests.
“Kyle, he is just a cold-blooded scorer,” Duke forward Lance Thomas said. “Not many guys can guard him.”
While Florida State (13-2) will try to contain Singler again, the Blue Devils hope to do their best against Seminoles star guard Toney Douglas. The 6-2 senior is averaging 18.4 points, third in the ACC behind North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough (22.9 ppg) and Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague (19.6).
Douglas, though, has scored a combined 29 points on 35.5 percent shooting in two career games versus Duke. He had 14 on 5-for-17 shooting in last season’s contest.
However, the Seminoles have proven they don’t need Douglas to dominate to be successful, considering they’re 4-0 this season when he’s failed to score in double figures.
The Blue Devils (13-1, 1-0) rolled to a 69-44 victory over Virginia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday in their conference opener. However, that win came against a Hokies team which has one of the ACC’s worst overall records and only one victory over a major conference team.
The Seminoles (13-2), meanwhile, already have beaten one ranked opponent, 57-55 over then-No. 23 Florida on Dec. 7, and are one of the few teams to come close to knocking off current No. 1 Pittsburgh. That game was tied with a minute to play on Dec. 21 before the Seminoles fell 56-48, but that’s their only defeat in the last seven games.
Plus, Florida State upset a Duke team that was ranked in the top 10— including No. 1 in 2006—in the previous two meetings before losing last season’s matchup 70-57. However, the Seminoles held the lead in that game with under four minutes to play.
That game, like this one, opened the Blue Devils’ ACC road schedule, and they went on to a 6-2 record away from home in league play.
“The ACC is very exciting,” Duke sophomore Kyle Singler said. “The crowd knows it; the opponent knows it and games just kick up a little.”
Duke returns to conference play after winning 79-67 at home over preseason All-American Stephen Curry and Davidson on Wednesday. The Blue Devils never trailed and managed to hold off a late Davidson charge led by Curry, the nation’s leading scorer who finished with 29 points.
“It’s a special team that can be able to do that, to throw different guys at you and not miss a beat,” Curry said after committing seven of Davidson’s 17 turnovers against Duke, which allowed an opponent to score more than 60 points for just the fifth time this season.
Jon Scheyer and Singler each scored 22 points to lead the Blue Devils, who are 1-1 in true road games this season. They lost 81-73 at Michigan on Dec. 6, four days after beating then-No. 9 Purdue 76-60 in West Lafayette, Ind.
Scheyer had 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting versus the Seminoles last season. Singler, meanwhile, was held to 10 against Florida State, but the 6-foot-8 forward is averaging a team-leading 16.9 points on the season and 20.3 in his last three contests.
“Kyle, he is just a cold-blooded scorer,” Duke forward Lance Thomas said. “Not many guys can guard him.”
While Florida State (13-2) will try to contain Singler again, the Blue Devils hope to do their best against Seminoles star guard Toney Douglas. The 6-2 senior is averaging 18.4 points, third in the ACC behind North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough (22.9 ppg) and Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague (19.6).
Douglas, though, has scored a combined 29 points on 35.5 percent shooting in two career games versus Duke. He had 14 on 5-for-17 shooting in last season’s contest.
However, the Seminoles have proven they don’t need Douglas to dominate to be successful, considering they’re 4-0 this season when he’s failed to score in double figures.