Round 2 goes to Duke. Blue Devils 74, Noles 66

Once in a great while you run into a team which attempts 54% of their shots from beyond the arc and they make almost half of them. When that happens you tip your hat and move on.

In the controllable aspects of the game, FSU played at an elite level. FSU held Duke to 38% shooting on 2s, blocked 5 of their shots, and kept them to only 6 offensive boards on 30 missed shots. But Austin Rivers and Andre Dawkins combined to hit 10-17 3s, and that was the difference in the game.

Dawkins finished with a game high 22 points, and Rivers added 20. Mason Plumlee came into the game averaging 11.2 points and scored 1.

On offense FSU pounded the interior and took 76% of their shots from inside the arc. But unfortunately, not enough of them fell. The Seminoles routinely exposed Duke's poor perimeter defense, but ended up playing catch up all night due to Duke's hot shooting. Still FSU scored 66 points in 65 possessions despite a cold shooting night from 3 (FSU is the top ACC 3-pt% offense) and a poor night from the line. Had Duke been merely excellent from deep, this game would have gone to the final possession.

Michael Snaer led all Noles with 18 points, and Bernard James added 13 points, 9 boards and 5 blocks.

Now FSU has to gear up for a rough road trip to Miami and Virginia. They need to win both to keep their hopes of a #1 seed in the ACC Tournament alive.