Florida State’s final true road game of the 2016-17 season will come at one of college basketball’s most known venues, Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Seminoles will visit Duke on Tuesday night in a contest that could decide who gets a double-bye in the ACC Tournament.
FSU easily defeated Duke in the first match-up between the teams this season in Tallahassee, 88-72. The victory snapped a 4-game skid for FSU against the Blue Devils. Florida State hasn’t won at Duke since 2012 when Michael Snaer sunk a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, 76-73. With a victory, the Seminoles would clinch a double-bye and a top-4 seed in the ACC Tournament.
The Match-up
Who: No. 15 Florida State Seminoles (23-6, 11-5 ACC) at No. 17 Duke Blue Devils (22-7, 10-6 ACC)
When: Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina
Key Players
For Florida State: Despite a recent shooting slump, Dwayne Bacon is well on his way to leading Florida State in scoring for a second straight season. The sophomore is averaging 16.6 points per game. Freshman forward Jonathan Isaac does everything for FSU. Isaac averages 12.8 points per game and team-highs of 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Xavier Rathan-Mayes is the leading assist man for FSU, dishing out five per contest. Rathan-Mayes also averages in double-figures with 10.3 points per game.
For Duke: Four Duke players average in double-figures scoring. The Blue Devils are led by lefty sharpshooter Luke Kennard, who averages nearly 20 points per game and shoots 51 percent from the field. Versatile freshman Jayson Tatum averaged better than 16 points and seven rebounds for Duke. Grayson Allen scores 15 points per game to go with a team-high 3.9 assists per contest. Amile Jefferson is scoring better than 11 points per game to go with a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game. Jefferson also blocks a team-high 1.6 shots per game.
What to Watch For
Xavier Rathan-Mayes: Redshirt junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes has really been playing well of late for Florida State and has been doing so on both ends of the floor. After recording a season-high 10 assists against Boston College last week, Rathan-Mayes led the Seminoles’ win over Clemson on Saturday with 15 points, including the game-winning basket, and seven assists. Rathan-Mayes has also been playing well on the defensive end and could put some pressure on the likes of Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen on Tuesday. In this first meeting between the teams, Rathan-Mayes scored a team-high 21 points with 18 coming in the second half in an FSU victory.
Amile Jefferson: Duke may have took it on the chin in its loss to Florida State earlier in the season, but it was without a key piece. Leading shot-blocker and rebounder, Amile Jefferson did not play in the contest in Tallahassee. At least partially as a result, the Seminoles won the battle on the glass 38-30 and shot 53 percent from the field. At 6-9, Jefferson has six double-doubles this year and could be a real difference-maker on Tuesday night.
Free throw shooting: During Florida State’s mini 2-game winning streak, things seem to have been corrected from the charity stripe. In wins over Boston College and Clemson, the Seminoles have shot 37-for-45 or 82 percent from the line. This comes after shooting just 16-for-37 or a woeful 43 percent in the two games prior. At a tough place to play like Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Seminoles can’t leave points on the line. That hasn’t been a problem for Duke this season as the Blue Devils shoot better than 75 percent as a team.
3-point shooting: With 247 makes on the season, Duke ranks third in the ACC in 3-pointers. The Blue Devils are making them at nearly a 38 percent clip, but in their last meeting with FSU were held to just 7-for-24 from downtown. 3-point shooting isn’t a specialty for Florida State, but it did shoot better from deep than Duke during the first meeting.
Number to Pay Attention To
24: 24 is the number of victories Florida State would have with a win on Tuesday night. That would be the most ever for the Seminoles during the regular season.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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