#6 Duke Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0 ACC) vs Florida State Seminoles (7-7, 0-1 ACC)

#6 Duke Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. Florida State Seminoles (7-7, 0-1 ACC)

Saturday, Jan. 3 • 3:45 p.m. ET

Donald L. Tucker Center (11,500) • Tallahassee, Fla.

TV: CBS

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

The No. 6 Duke Blue Devils travels to Tallahassee to face the Florida State Seminoles in their first ACC road game.

TV CBS
Play-by-Play Brad Nessler
Analyst Bill Raftery
Producer Kimani Morales
Director Matt Plundo

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 145 & SiriusXM app

Luke Loucks, the first year coach at Florida State, is a two-time NBA champion (as Warriors’ player development coach) and former FSU player. Loucks was named Florida State’s head coach on March 9, 2025. His Seminoles enter the new year with a 7-7 record, and a conference record of 0-1.

Robert McCray V leads the ACC and ranks third nationally with 92 assists (7.1 per game), and tops the Seminoles in scoring with 13.5 points per contest. Senior forward Chauncey Wiggins adds 12.3 points per game and 4.8 rebounds. Lajae Jones and Kobe MaGee round out the double figure scoring for the Seminoles at 11.6 and 10.6 respectively. Alex Steen is 10th in the nation with an ACC-best 4.0 offensive rebounds per game. FSU ranks second in the nation in 3-point shots per game (36.2), eighth in turnovers forced per game (17.5) and 11th in offensive rebounds per game (14.6) – all tops in the ACC.

Last Time Out:

Chauncey Wiggins scored a team-high 16 and recorded his second career double-double with 10 rebounds in Florida State’s 79-66 loss against No. 12/12 North Carolina at the Dean E. Smith Center. Wiggins’ double-double is his first career double-double in an ACC game. His 16 points tied his ACC career high in scoring, and he previously scored 16 points against Virginia Tech on January 25, 2025. His 10 rebounds tie his season-high, which he set against Georgia Southern on November 21 earlier this season, and broke his ACC single-game rebound record, which was eight. Robert McCray V’s eight assists mark 100 assists this season, and he has reached that mark for the second time in his career (recorded 143 last season). McCray V (11), Lajae Jones (10), and Kobe MaGee (12) also finished with double-digit points.

The Blue Devils are coming off of a 35-4 season that saw them within a game of a title shot. Duke went 19-1 in conference, winning both the regular season and the ACC Tournament.

The Blue Devils welcome in a number 1 recruiting class after their Final Four run. Jon Scheyer after losing his entire starting lineup to the NBA but retaining core pieces with experience. Leading Duke are experienced returners senior big Maliq Brown and junior guard Caleb Foster, both instrumental pieces in Duke’s run this past season. Duke also returned 3 members from last season freshman class in hot shooting Isaiah Evans, who shot a team high 41.6%. Duke also brings back Darren Harris who has reshaped his body in hopes for a larger role and Patrick Ngongba who similarly has reshaped his frame, coming into this season healthy.

Cameron Boozer leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 23.5 points per game, he leads the Blue Devils in rebounding at 10.2 per contest. In addition, averaging a double-double, Boozer leads the Blue Devils in assists at 3.8 per game. Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba both are averaging double figures for Jon Scheyer’s team at 12.2 and 11.1 points per game respectively.

Last Time Out:

No. 6 Duke won its ACC home opener for the 19th consecutive season, defeating Georgia Tech, 85-79, on Wednesday, Dec. 31. The Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0 ACC) move to 54-19 in ACC openers all-time, defeating the Yellow Jackets (9-5, 0-1 ACC) for the 20th time in the last 22 meetings.

All five Duke starters scored in double figures, led by Cameron Boozer’s 26-point, 12-rebound double-double. Cayden Boozer finished one point shy of his career high, scoring 13 points, while logging a career-high 31 minutes and recording a career-best three steals in his first collegiate start.

Duke fans are very used to Duke walking into Florida State’s gym and being bombarded by a team generally hungry and in dire need of a big win. That same scenario is upon Duke again. The Blue Devils are facing a team in dire need of a big win to even out their ACC record. If the last 3 games are any indication, the Blue Devils are in danger. Barely able to beat Georgia Tech in Cameron, the Blue Devils in this quick turnaround have to answer some serious questions.

Defense

Defensively, Duke hasn’t played in recent weeks like they did to start the season. Jon Scheyer has alluded to at least one factor being the holiday season and inconsistency in practice and schedule. Regardless of that, every team has their version of it and no one is going to care why Duke lost, only that they lost. To curb that from happening, in my opinion, it all begins on the defensive end for the Blue Devils. They cannot, as they did with Georgia Tech, allow them to get comfortable from beyond the arc. Florida State wants to jack up as many 3’s as they can, they are second in the country in attempts from 3, and while they haven’t shot it well – they will start to fall eventually. The Blue Devils cannot be the team that allows them to get off. What Duke can do is limit the Seminoles to one shot, and those shots need to be tough 2’s. Duke also didn’t do a good job defending the paint against Georgia Tech. If Duke is going to play a switching defense, the bigs have to do a much better job of guarding smaller players, or the entire idea is moot. Duke has allowed in recent weeks far too many easy layups and dunks. Isaiah Evans mentioned it after the Georgia Tech game, and it rings true – Duke has to take pride in defense. If that isn’t going to be their identity, then this is going to be a very disappointing season.

Offense

Offensively, Duke still hasn’t clicked on all cylinders. We’ve yet to really see a connected offense that isn’t Cam Boozer dependent. Duke has changed the starting lineup, and now they are playing both Cayden Boozer and Caleb Foster. This is still a work in progress, but there were some signs that this offense flowed a bit better. I think I speak for a lot of fans who would love to see Duke establish the paint. If the defense collapses, then Duke has the shooters to make Florida State pay, but a lot of that depends on ball movement and making the right reads. What Duke cannot do is fall in love with the 3-point shot just because Florida State is, knowing the difference between a good shot and a great shot will go a long way towards improving Duke’s offense. Duke also needs to get something from their bench, Dame Sarr, Nik Khamenia and Maliq Brown need to provide Duke something on offense. If not, Duke becomes very beatable.

The Margins

One glaring thing that seems to be lacking for Duke is winning the margins. Loose balls, rebounding, free throws – these are elements of the game that Duke needs to get back in touch with. It’s on the staff to impress upon this team how important those things are, but those are the factors that win or lose games. The Blue Devils have been playing with fire, and it’s already cost them their first loss of the season, nearly cost them their second.