No. 9 Florida State had one of the largest crowds ever on hand Tuesday night when it faced off against fellow top 10 team, the Duke Blue Devils. When all was said and done, FSU kept rolling along at the Donald L. Tucker Center with an 88-72 victory.

The fireworks started early, as FSU (16-1, 4-0 ACC) got off to an early lead with strong interior play and stingy defense.

The Seminoles held the lead for about 11 minutes, but No. 7 Duke continued to press inside and began to force FSU to take outside shots. From there on it was a power struggle, as both team shot efficiently: FSU had a 48 percent overall mark, while Duke (14-3, 2-2 ACC) shot 46 percent. FSU took a 41-37 lead into the half.

The second half could not have gone better for the Noles. After exchanging baskets for the first five minutes, FSU began to inch forward with the same recipe for success. The Seminoles kept going back to the big men and the slashing to the rim, garnering a 10-point lead midway through the half. From there on, guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes took over the game and ensured that the Seminoles finished strong to start 4-0 in ACC play for the first time ever.

Observations

• FSU was winning down low early on, and finished the half with 26 points in the paint, compared to the Blue Devils’ 16 points. Duke was clearly missing Amile Jefferson badly when it came to rebounds as well: the Seminoles had seven offensive rebounds.
• Florida State doing a good job of keeping the ball out of Grayson Allen’s hands. Rathan-Mayes was playing fantastic defense on him for most of the half. Only towards the end of the half did he begin to chip in points, but he still only had 5 points in 15 minutes.
• Duke did attack FSU center Ojo early on. He still makes questionable fouls, despite improvement. But FSU also took advantage Duke foul troubles, forcing the Blue Devils to commit 11 in the half.
• Braian Angola-Rodas had some defensive lapses early on that were leaving Duke shooters open on the perimeter. Luckily, they just weren’t hitting 3-pointers (30 percent in the half).
• Duke kept fouling FSU on the way to the basket. It could not stop drives, whether it was from Dwayne Bacon, Terance Mann or whoever.
• FSU started to settle for jump shots around the 9-minute mark, and not surprisingly Duke took the lead shortly afterwards. Some of it was being tired, but some of it was players trying to hit “big” shots to get the crowd going.
• Need a boost? P.J. Savoy is your guy. Six points in one minute had the ‘Noles rolling after the timeout around the 7-minute mark.
• Terance Mann continues to crash boards so efficiently. He had at least 6 points off second chances in the first half.
• Duke’s Jayson Tatum has some ridiculous length. Florida State struggled early defending him out of the paint. He finished with 21 points and four rebounds.
• Both teams came out and looked tired to start the second. Duke left players wide open down low for some FSU dunks. FSU seemed content with letting Ojo go one-on-one with the Duke guards.
• Duke had absolutely no answer around the rim. FSU was pounding it again to start the second, and it was spurned on by the FSU defense. The Seminoles pressured Duke down low and forced turnovers that led to offense. FSU had 26 points in the paint in the first half, and 30 points in the second.
• Rathan-Mayes turned it up a notch in the second half. Whether he was the one scoring, or assisting, or defending, he had an excellent second half. At one point, he scored seven straight to extend the lead to 12.
• FSU maintained a 10-point buffer for a few minutes trying to coast out the end of the game. The defense was key, as it made sure Duke didn’t do anything on the perimeter, while letting the big men impose themselves against a depleted Blue Devils’ front court.
• When a man decides to take over a game, there are few things you can do. Rathan-Mayes went crazy, almost single-handedly dicing the Duke defense. Second half stats: 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting and two assists.

Notable Numbers

Xavier Rathan-Mayes (FSU): 21 points (7-for-13), 3 assists, 2 rebounds

Terance Mann (FSU): 13 points (6-for-7), 7 rebounds

Dwayne Bacon (FSU): 13 points (6-for-15), 6 rebounds, 5 assists

Luke Kennard (Duke): 23 points (8-for-15), 3 rebounds, 2 assists

Jayson Tatum (Duke): 21 points (7-for-17), 4 rebounds

Quotes

Michael Ojo on success in the paint: “The game plan coming in was to try to get as many easy baskets as you can. They do a very good job of denying our guys, playing some tough defense. So we wanted to set some ball screens and get into the paint…we had some miscommunications…there’s thing we need to get better at down the road in ACC games.”

Terance Mann on the crowd tonight: “It helped us a lot. It got us ready to play…we were looking up there and looking at all those people, and we said ‘Let’s get it done’…that’s what you grow up dreaming to play in situations like that…playing Duke in your homecourt.”

XRM on his second half explosion: “I’ve just been playing my role in this team, doing whatever it takes for us to win basketball games. Duke did a really good job of taking away Bacon…Coach Gates said ‘Just be instinctive, play instinctive, we need you’ and I think that kind of lit a fire on me…whatever I got to do for this ball club to win, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Hamilton on confidence going forward: “I guess I can be philosophical and say that builds your confidence, but in reality, you can’t allow yourself in the ACC to do anything other than enjoy the moment and realize that the next opponent has just as much confidence…you got to keep it in perspective.”