No. 6 Duke basketball falls short in OT at Florida State. Blue Devils now 4-2 in ACC
No. 6 Duke lost starting guard Trevor Keels to injury, its usually potent offense hit a rut and it had to ditch its usual man-to-man defense for a zone.
Despite those obstacles, the Blue Devils stirring comeback erased Florida State’s nine-point, second-half lead and the game went into overtime.
That’s where Duke fell one shot short.
Florida State’s Johnny Butler blocked Wendell Moore’s shot in the lane with two seconds left and the Seminoles escaped with a 79-78 overtime win over the Blue Devils in ACC basketball at the Tucker Center.
Duke led 78-77 but Florida State’s RayQuan Evans sank two free throws with 12.3 seconds left to put the Seminoles (11-5, 5-2 ACC) in front. Moore drove down the left side of the lane but Butler, a 7-1 freshman, was there to swat away his shot and time ran out before Duke could get another shot off.
Trying to catch Florida State before its defense was set following Evans’ free throws, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had the team bring the ball up the court without calling a timeout. Moore said he thought he had a path to the rim, where Krzyzewski hoped the result would be either a foul or a made basket.
But Duke got neither.
“You are trying to get something at the basket,” Krzyzewski said. “Wendell or Paolo (Banchero) should have gotten it. Wendell took it. You’ve got to try to take it all the way if you are going.”
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Caleb Mills scored 18 points to lead Florida State, which won despite shooting just 35.6% from the field. Butler added 14 points.
Duke (14-3, 4-2 ACC) was led by Paolo Banchero’s 20 points. Mark Williams scored 15 and Moore 13. The Blue Devils shot 49.1% and turned the ball over 15 times.
“They were denying and switching everything, getting in the passing lanes and making it hard to catch the ball,” Banchero said. “Making us catch outside of where we wanted to start the offense at. They put up good pressure.”
In the extra period, Banchero rebounded his own miss to score with 1:04 left to put Duke in front 76-74. Mills drilled a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left giving the Seminoles a 77-76 lead.
Banchero drew a foul with 36.8 left and sank both free throws for a 78-77 Duke lead.
Duke’s Jeremy Roach was called for a blocking foul with 12.3 seconds left and Evans hit two free throws for a 79-78 Seminoles lead.
That proved to be the last of the 19 lead changes and 11 ties the thrilling game experienced.
The Blue Devils started the second half making only 2 of 14 shots. After trailing 59-50 with 6:52 to play and 65-59 with 2:55 to play in regulation, Duke scored eight consecutive points and took a 67-65 lead on a Williams dunk with 30.3 seconds to play.
With Duke back in a man-to-man defense, Florida State worked the clock down and Evans tied the game at 67 with 1.4 left in regulation when he drove the lane into traffic and lofted a shot that banked high off the backboard and through the net.
“Our kids fought like crazy and I thought Evans made a really tough shot to tie the game,” Krzyzewski said. “But that’s what he does. He’s a veteran. He made a big-time shot and he made big-time free throws to close out the overtime.”
Duke’s ice-cold start to the second half allowed Florida State to regain the lead after the Blue Devils led 38-33 at halftime.
The Blue Devils hit just 1 of their first 12 shots from the field, while turning the ball over six times, over the first nine minutes after halftime. The Seminoles scored the first nine points of the half to take a 42-38 lead and extended it to 50-43 with 10:43 to play.
With 10:11 to play, Keels injured his right leg during a pileup after he fouled Florida State’s Jalen Warley. Keels was helped from the court, initially not putting weight on his right leg although he did gingerly walk, with aid from teammates, to the bench.
Krzyzewski said Keels suffered a calf injury but didn’t offer a timetable for his return.
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Trailing 59-50, Duke cut into the deficit when Moore drilled a 3-pointer with 5:54 to play and the Blue Devils switched to a zone defense.
That move proved effective as Florida State went nearly four minutes without a field goal.
Banchero’s 3-pointer with 4:11 to play sliced the Florida State lead to 63-58. A Jeremy Roach free throw with 3:13 trimmed the Seminoles lead to 65-61.
After Butler hit a pull-up jumper with 2:55 to play for the Seminoles’ first field goal since the 6:52 mark, Banchero countered with a drive for a dunk. After a Florida State miss, Banchero uncorked a half-court lob pass and Williams slammed home two points to leave Duke down 65-63 with 1:57 to play.
Griffin’s shot with 1:09 left tied the score at 65.
In a competitive first half that saw 10 lead changes and five ties, Duke scored the final seven points before halftime to lead 38-33.
Duke’s closing spurt occurred with AJ Griffin and Wendell Moore on the bench with two fouls apiece. Keels, who matched Banchero for the team lead with nine first-half points, played a big role in the run. After his free throw put the Blue Devils up 34-33 with 1:27 left, he stole the ball from Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland near mid-court and converted a contested layup with 1:11 remaining in the half.
Two Williams free throws with 51.3 seconds to play in the half gave Duke a 38-33 lead.
Duke shot 59.1% in the first half, including 6 of 12 on 3-pointers. In addition to the foul trouble Moore and Griffin found themselves in, turnovers also slowed the Blue Devils attack. Duke committed eight prior to halftime.
Joey Baker played 10 first-half minutes, contributing five points, for Duke.
Florida State shot just 38.1% in the first half. But Butler hit all three of his 3-point shots to pace the Seminoles with nine points.
This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 11:38 PM.