Duke handled Florida State with relative ease 80-65 on the strength of a balanced scoring attack and a much improved defense effort. Offensively, Duke was fun to watch as they excelled at making the extra pass and keeping the porous Florida State defense on their heels.
Duke was paced by Sophomore Grayson Allen who scored 18 points off of 7-20 from for floor. Allen also dished out 5 assists in his 40 minutes of play. Duke also got double-digit efforts from Brandon Ingram who scored 16 points and pulled down 6 boards; Matt Jones in his first action since being out at Louisville scored 11 points and dished 5 assists to tie with Grayson Allen for the team lead; Marshall Plumlee had 13 points and 10 boards and Luke Kennard went 5-9 for 12 points in the win as well.
Pluses:
-Chase Jeter providing Duke with solid minutes off the bench.
-Duke team assist to turnover ratio of 16 to 5. Only 5 turnovers in a game is supremely impressive.
– 16 to 6 advantage in points off of turnovers.
– Transition D was a strength for Duke, with FSU looking to consistently push the pace to maximize the talent they have getting to the rim, Duke was able to curb the amount of fast break buckets they allowed (4).
Minuses:
-Duke was out-rebounded again
-The Grayson Allen trip, the game got a bit chippy toward the end and with what appeared to be a very soccer like trip social media was abuzz with “dirty Player” fodder. I don’t really have much to say on the issue aside from obviously I’d like Grayson to make better choices. Basketball is not ballet and unless you’ve played you have no idea what goes on during rebounds and things the cameras do now show. We’d like to see players keep their composure but shit happens. The ACC will review and decide if there is cause for anything further. I don’t really entertain the issue of race when it comes this incident. Basketball is probably at this point one of the most diverse sports there is and I do not think the prevailing views of players by casual fans means much. It doesn’t to me.
For the second game in a row rumors permeated social media regarding the status if senior forward Amile Jefferson and for the second game Amile did not dress. Most importantly and impressively for Duke is how they have began to cultivate a bit of depth with the slow and steady growth of Chase Jeter. Jeter progression will be important for Duke whether Jefferson returns to the court or not. Against Florida State Jeter had his best game of he season notching 12 minutes where the freshmen scored 3 points, pulled down 5 rebounds, drew 2 charges and had an impressive block of a dunk. While these numbers are modest they are an upward trend and just when Duke needs it. In this home stretch of the ACC season, the wear and tear starts to take hold and Duke will need to make sure players are adequately rested, having players like Jeter who can spell players even if just for 5-10 minutes makes a huge difference.
