Yes, the Blue Devils are still ranked 12th in the country and are assured an NCAA Tournament bid. But by Duke standards, it's subpar as the Blue Devils struggled through learning a new system and coach.

But for a big 12 minutes, the Blue Devils played like they wanted to and earned a much-needed 81-67 victory over Florida State. Duke (22-8) advances to meet No. 5 Maryland at 3:30 p.m. today in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

"It just feels like we were Duke again," said guard Wanisha Smith, who had seven points and four assists.

Down six with 12:36 left in the game, Duke faced its quickest exit of the ACC Tournament since 1994.

But the Devils cut the lead to two, and then Abby Waner ripped the ball from Florida State's Shante Williams and ran the length of the court for an easy layup. It's the kind of bucket Duke has feasted on for years, and it seemed to turn a switch on inside Waner.

Waner's season-long struggles in Joanne P. McCallie's offense has been widely documented, but suddenly, the junior showed the form that established her as one of the ACC's premier players.

Layups. Assists. Free throws.

And then the impossibly deep 3-pointer that put Duke up 60-53 with 8:09 left and effectively ended any chance Florida State (18-13) could rally.

"When Abby Waner hit that 3, that was the backbreaker," Seminoles coach Sue Semrau said.

Waner would finish with 14 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. After the game, she beamed at everyone -- a welcome change for a player who missed 10 straight 3-pointers before hitting her 25-foot jumper.

"I think the biggest thing is -- it was fun," Waner said. "We were playing Duke basketball, and it was fun. Everybody on the court was having fun, and you could tell just by the way we were playing."

Chante Black added 20 points for the Blue Devils, who used that last 12 minutes to give themselves a victory to help wash away the memories of their 82-51 loss at North Carolina to end the regular season.

Duke knows better than most teams the difference between the regular season and postseason. Last season, the Blue Devils were perfect in the regular season and played poorly in the postseason, getting upset by N.C. State in the ACC Tournament and by Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament.

"It was great to get that lift, but we're moving on to Maryland and only Maryland," Waner said. "I always think of is Maryland my freshman year. We beat them twice, and then they beat us twice when it really mattered. ... You never know what can happen. Teams grow, and they can grow within a matter of one or two games."