Florida State Knocks Off Duke In OT, 79-78

There’s an expression you hear a lot in basketball. They made one more play than we did.

Or as Wendell Moore, Jr. put it, “at the end of the day, the ball didn’t bounce our way.”

Florida State made one more play than Duke and the ball bounced their way and as a result FSU knocked off Duke 79-78 in overtime Tuesday night in Tallahassee.

I’m not sure which play it was or which bounce it was. They’re expressions. But when you lose by a point in overtime, every miscue, every great play looms large.

It could have been a great road win. Duke was outplayed most of the second half. Poor rebounding and turnovers again were the culprits, two recurring themes in this season.

“I thought it was the most physical game we’ve been in,” Mike Krzyzewski said. “They knocked us back for most of the first half. Right away at the start of the second half, they dominated those first four minutes and set a tone.”

“They did a good job just crashing,” Paulo Banchero acknowledged. “Just flying in there and getting their hands on balls, getting tips and put-backs and just kind of coming in there recklessly and getting up there.”

Florida State had 19 offensive rebounds to Duke’s seven and forced 15 turnovers while committing only five. They had 18 more field-goal attempts than Duke,

Duke made a determined comeback from a 59-50 deficit with 6:53 left, 61-53 with 5:18 left.

Duke had to go zone to slow down the Seminoles and they played down the stretch and in overtime without Trevor Keels, who went down with a calf injury.

But twice Duke had a chance to salt it away but couldn’t get the stop they needed. Trailing 67-65 with two seconds left in regulation, Florida State tied it on a layup by RayQuan Evans.

Krzyzewski said Duke defended well but Evans “made a really good shot.”

Duke led 76-74 in overtime but Caleb Mills put the home team up with a 3 with just under a minute remaining. Paulo Banchero put Duke back up with a pair of foul shots, with 36 seconds left. But Jeremy Roach fouled Evans with 12 seconds left. He made both foul shots.

Still, plenty of time to pull it out. Duke got the ball to Wendell Moore, Jr.

Mike Krzyzewski said the goal was to get the ball in the hands of either Banchero or Moore.

“Basically, if you have a chance to advance the ball against a defense that’s not set, you want to try to get something at the basket. Wendell went and you’ve got to try to take it all the way if you’re going.”

Moore didn’t make it all the way. He pulled up short and the shot was blocked.

Moore’s take?

“Just trying to get the best shot possible. I kind of felt like I had a lane to the basket so I just attacked it.”

Of course, a lot of basketball took place before those final furious minutes and a case can be made that Duke lost the game at the beginning of the second half. The Blue Devils closed the first half on a 7-0 run and took a 38-33 lead into the locker room.

But the first six minutes or so of the second half were an unmitigated disaster. The tone was set on the first possession, when Florida State grabbed four offensive rebounds before scoring. It took Duke 3:32 before they even scored in the second half, a 3-pointer by Moore.

FSU also took Banchero out of the game. The precocious freshman didn’t even attempt a field goal for the first 15 minutes of the second half; he did miss a foul shot.

But he took over down the stretch. Krzyzewski said Duke spread the floor to give him more room to operate.

Banchero scored seven points in the final five minutes of regulation and added three assists.

Just enough to come close.

The loss drops Duke to 4-2 ACC, 14-3 overall, while the resurgent Seminoles are 5-2 and 11-5.

Banchero led everyone with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Mark Williams added 15 points and seven rebounds, Moore 13 points.

Mills led FSU with 18 points. As is common, the deep Seminoles used their depth well, outscoring Duke 23-13 off the bench.

Syracuse next, Saturday at noon, a suddenly crucial game with Duke once again trailing Miami by a game in the loss column. And Krzyzewski said that it was too early to know anything about Keels’ availability.

• PAN-HANDLED: Duke men’s basketball upset on the road by Florida State
• Five observations from Duke men’s basketball’s first half against Florida State
• No. 6 Duke basketball falls short in OT at Florida State. Blue Devils now 4-2 in ACC
• No. 6 Duke basketball falls short in OT at Florida State. Blue Devils now 4-2 in ACC
• Trevor Keels’ status for Duke basketball is uncertain. Starting guard has leg injury
• Coach K said Florida State loss was the most physical game his Duke team has played in this season