Oh my, McCain! Duke basketball freshman sets records. 3 takeaways from win at Florida State
Jared McCain added his name to Duke basketball lore and made sure the No. 9 Blue Devils had no worries about fellow guard Tyrese Proctor’s absence due to injury on Saturday.
McCain scored 35 points, setting a program freshman record with eight 3-pointers, as the Blue Devils toppled Florida State, 76-67, in ACC basketball at the Tucker Center.
The 6-3 McCain, a freshman guard from Sacramento, California, hit his first eight shots overall and finished the game 12 of 20 from the field. He made 8 of 11 3-pointers. His point total matched Zion Williamson’s Duke freshman single-game scoring record, set in 2019 against Syracuse.
“Jared, that was a special performance,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I’ve been lucky for my 15 years, but especially as a coach for 11, to see a lot of special performances by any player. But especially a freshman. That’s right up there.”
No. 9 Duke (20-5, 11-3 ACC) led by 10 points at halftime and never saw its lead fall below six points in the second half. The Blue Devils won despite not having Proctor, a 6-5 sophomore guard who has started 16 games this season. He did not make the trip due to concussion symptoms.
Florida State (13-12, 7-7 ACC) hit six of its first seven shots to lead by six points early. But McCain helped Duke quickly erase that deficit. When McCain hit his third 3-pointer of the game with 13:09 left until halftime, Duke took a 19-16 lead and never trailed again.
McCain enjoyed quieting the Florida State crowd as put his finger to his lips after making a shot. By the second half, he was booed every time he touched the ball.
“I love playing against away crowds,” McCain said. “It’s always fun, even if they’re saying some stuff they probably shouldn’t be saying racially. Anyways, but yeah, it’s always fun playing to away crowds, getting the crowd going. Whenever they’re booing you know you’re doing something right. So it’s exciting.”
Jeremy Roach added 17 points as the only other Duke player in double figures. The Blue Devils shot 46.4% and won despite Florida State shooting 49.1%.
Here are three takeaways from the game
McCain’s stellar day
Before the first half was over, McCain had already matched the Duke record for most 3-pointers in a game by a freshman. Back in 2018, Cam Reddish hit seven against Army.
McCain hit four 3-pointers in the game’s first eight minutes to zoom into double-figures in scoring. By the time he missed his first shot, a 3-pointer with 4:46 to play until halftime, he he’d already scored 22 points by making his first eight shots (six 3-pointers).
To close his incredible first half, McCain took a bounce pass from Roach in transition. With the first-half clock ticking down, McCain dribbled and took two steps back behind the 3-point line and drilled another 3 with two seconds left. That left him at 25 points in the first half and gave Duke a 44-34 halftime lead.
He made his eighth 3-pointer, setting the new Duke freshman record, with 9:38 to play, giving Duke a 60-49 lead.
That capped a quick five-point McCain run that gave the Blue Devils some breathing room after FSU fought back to trail 55-49.
“Not only did he have 35, but it was in critical moments,” Scheyer said. “At the beginning of the game, I didn’t think we came out with the right defensive mentality at first. He steadied us with a scoring. Then to close the half, he had a couple of big threes as well. Then that moment in the second half, two free throws and that 3. That was a critical moment.
Duke trades turnovers for rebounds
Though Duke is one of the ACC’s top teams when it comes to protecting the ball this season, the Blue Devils ran up against their match on Saturday.
Averaging 9.5 turnovers per game this season, the Blue Devils committed seven in the first half and finished with a season-worst 17. Kyle Filipowski had six of Duke’s miscues.
Florida State is No. 2 in the ACC, per KenPom.com, in forcing turnovers. Seminoles opponents have done so on 19.7% of their possessions in ACC play. The Seminoles had eight steals against Duke on Saturday.
But the Blue Devils were able to win the rebounding battle against the taller Seminoles, 36-27. That included 15 offensive rebounds. Of the eight players Duke used, seven grabbed at least two rebounds. Even freshman forward Sean Stewart, who only played four minutes, grabbed four rebounds.
Filipowski led Duke with seven rebounds.
“To out-rebound them by nine and have 15 offensive rebounds,” Scheyer said. “I think that’s a big step and something we need to learn from.”
Back to an unbeaten lineup
With Proctor not available, Scheyer used a familiar starting five that’s brought Duke nothing but success this season. The lineup consisted of McCain, Roach, Caleb Foster, Filipowski and Mark Mitchell. The Blue Devils are now 8-0 with that starting five.
Duke very well could have that lineup again on Wednesday night at Miami if concussion protocol prevents Proctor from returning to practice.
This story was originally published February 17, 2024 at 4:18 PM.