Tough road game at Florida State awaits the Blue Devils
Duke at Florida State
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, Fla.
TV/online/radio: WRAZ, ACC Network, 620-WDNC
Projected starting lineups
No. 7 Duke (14-2, 2-1 ACC)
G Grayson Allen Jr. 15.6 ppg, 4.3 apg
G Luke Kennard So. 20.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg
G Matt Jones Sr. 8.1 ppg, 3 rpg
F Jayson Tatum Fr. 17.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg
F Harry Giles Fr. 5.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg
No. 9 Florida State (15-1, 3-0 ACC)
G Xavier Rathan-Maye Jr. 10.4 ppg, 4.7 apg
G Dwayne Bacon So. 18.1 ppg, 3.9 apg
G Terance Mann So. 9.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg
F Jonathan Isaac Fr. 12.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg
C Michael Ojo Gr. 5.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Three things to know
▪ Duke will be without key veteran and team captain Amile Jefferson, who bruised a bone in his right foot, the same he injured last season, in the first half of the Blue Devils’ win over Boston College on Saturday. Freshmen Harry Giles, who’s shown marked improvement, and Marques Bolden, who played 15 minutes against Georgia Tech on Jan. 4, will help man the inside, along with sophomore Chase Jeter. Duke will have to make due without one of its best rebounders, especially offensively, in Jefferson, who averaged a double-double with 13.6 points and 10.1 boards. Duke can go small with senior Matt Jones in the lineup, but Florida State boasts a 7-1 starting center in Michael Ojo.
▪ Grayson Allen being reinserted after a brief suspension has paid dividends. The junior guard has passed out 17 assists in the two games since returning against Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils have consistently shared the ball and looked in sync since Allen has taken over the offense, and it helps that he can score, too. He’s the team’s third-leading scorer with 15.6 points a game behind Luke Kennard (20.3) and Jayson Tatum (17).
▪ This will be the first of two tough road games for Duke. The ninth-ranked Seminoles have one loss and have started their ACC season 3-0 for the first time in 26 years. They jumped up three spots in the AP Rankings after taking down Virginia Tech, a solid team that Duke lost to in the ACC opener. Florida State produced 35 bench points in the victory, a record-tying 11th straight. FSU’s Terance Mann scored a career-high 22 against the Hokies, while fellow sophomore Dwayne Bacon has scored at least 10 points in 25 straight games. Duke faces Louisville on the road Saturday.
Jessika Morgan
This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Tough road game at Florida State awaits the Blue Devils."