DURHAM — Tre Jones had 13 points to help seventh-ranked Duke overcome a turnover-heavy performance to beat No. 8 Florida State 70-65 on Monday night.
The Blue Devils (21-3, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) were coming off a wild and emotionally draining overtime win against rival North Carolina on Saturday. And the teams entered this game tied for second in the ACC, sitting one game back in the loss column of No. 5 Louisville.
The Blue Devils responded by grinding through a tough win, shooting 45% and hitting 7 of 17 3-pointers to overcome 21 turnovers in one of their highest totals of the season. And the defense gave the Seminoles tough looks, forcing FSU’s Trent Forrest to carry the offensive burden for much of the night.
Big man Vernon Carey Jr. had a quiet offensive night (10 points and 10 rebounds), but Duke got a boost with junior guard Jordan Goldwire matching his career-high with 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting — including three 3s — after coming in averaging 4.0 points.
Freshman Matthew Hurt also had a couple of big moments in the final seconds, going 4 for 4 at the line in the final 11.7 seconds to help the Blue Devils clinch this one.
Forrest finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight steals to lead the Seminoles (20-4, 10-3), who shot just 38%.
Big Picture
Florida State: The Seminoles helped themselves in this one by scoring 15 points off turnovers, but their poor outside shooting (3 of 18 from behind the arc) proved troublesome. FSU also made just 12 of 20 free throws, which loomed larger as the Seminoles found themselves in a tight game coming down the stretch. They ended up losing to Duke for the fifth straight meeting, including last year’s ACC Tournament championship game.
Duke: It wouldn’t have been a surprise to see Duke look a bit flat considering how much energy and emotion the Blue Devils spent in the comeback win in Chapel Hill two nights earlier — complete with buzzer-beating shots to force overtime (by Jones) and later to win (by freshman Wendell Moore Jr.). The Blue Devils shot the ball solidly enough, at least, to overcome the turnover problem. And when it was over, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski took a moment to motion to the “Cameron Crazies” for more noise as his team prepared to leave the court, while the players did a line of high-fives on their way to the tunnel after a big pair of wins.
Up Next
Florida State: The Seminoles host Syracuse on Saturday.
Duke: The Blue Devils host Notre Dame on Saturday.
