FSU basketball upsets No. 5 Duke in thrilling OT game

Tallahassee, FL- Florida State basketball upset the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils 79-78 on Tuesday night at the Tucker Center in a thrilling overtime game. The Seminoles have won four straight games. The Tucker Center Magic lives on. Mike Krzyzewski is walking out of the Tucker Center for the final time with a loss. In a game with 19 lead changes, the Seminoles prevailed over No. 5 Blue Devils. Florida State has won 13 overtime games in a row, extending the longest streak in D1 history.

The win gives Leonard Hamilton 55 wins over top 25 teams when unranked. That is the most by any coach in the AP Poll Era. New blood.

GAME THREAD

BOX SCORE

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Moments that mattered

Defense causes chaos early

The Blue Devils got off to a hot start from the field as they made three of their first four shots. But the ‘Noles were able to create havoc to slow down the Blue Devils. FSU forced three Duke turnovers in a span of 2:36, which led to a scoring drought of nearly four minutes. A triple from John Butler and an and-one by Naheem McLeod knotted the game at eight at the first media timeout.

Back-to-back triples ignite the Tucker Center

Out of the timeout, Duke went on a quick 6-0 run capped by an and-one by Paolo Banchero. The ‘Noles held their ground and responded with a run of their own. Malik Osborne, playing on a bad ankle after missing FSU’s prior game, hit a pair of free throws to stop the short Duke run. Butler then hit his second three to cut the lead to one. After a Jalen Warley steal, Osborne hit another triple to give Florida State their first lead of the game. FSU led 16-14 with 10:10 remaining in the half. Through 10 minutes, Duke had five turnovers and the Seminoles had 0.

Keels, Banchero swing lead back to Duke

The Seminoles went up 25-21 after Butler’s third triple and a layup by McLeod. Duke’s stars, Banchero and Trevor Keels, swung the lead back in the Blue Devils’ favor. Keels, who came into the game shooting 30.9% from deep, hit his second early triple to cut the lead to one. On the next possession, Banchero finished through a sea of Seminoles around the rim to put Duke back on top. Leonard Hamilton called his first timeout with 5:42 remaining in the half and FSU down 1.

Duke goes on crucial run to end half

The Blue Devils led 38-33 at halftime after a 7-0 run over the last 1:54 of the half. The Seminoles went into half on a scoring drought of two-plus minutestwo-plus . FSU’s drought at the end of half featured a pair of missed free throws from Matthew Cleveland and a turnover that led to Duke points. The ‘Noles didn’t have either of their veteran point guards, RayQuan Evans or Caleb Mills, on the court for the final 2:59 of the half.

FSU shot 39% in the first half, but were 4-9 from beyond the arc. Duke shot 59% and was 6-12 on three-pointers. The Seminoles made up ground with 11 points off eight Blue Devil turnovers. FSU turned the ball over just once and picked up six offensive boards. There were 10 lead changes in the first half.

Seminoles get perfect start to second half

Florida State started the second half on a 9-0 run. On the opening possession of the half, McLeod turned FSU’s third offensive rebound into a dunk. The defense forced turnovers on Duke’s first two possessions. After another FIVE offensive rebounds, Cam’Ron Fletcher tied the game at 38 with a layup. Another Duke turnover led to a pair of free throws from Polite. Mills capped the run with two free throws of his own.

Wendell Moore Jr. put a stop to the run with his second triple, but Evans found McLeod on the following possession for a thunderous alley-oop slam. The ‘Noles led 44-41 at the first media TO of the half. Through the first four minutes of the half, the ‘Noles had nine offensive rebounds (four by McLeod alone).

Both offenses go cold as margin stays the same

Over the next four minutes, neither team had anything going on offense. Heading into the U12 TO, the two teams were a combined one for their last 15. FSU was on a scoring drought of 2:12 and Duke hadn’t made a field goal in nearly five minutes. The Seminoles got open looks, but couldn’t make them to extend their lead. FSU led 46-43 with 11:55 remaining.

Keels suffers injury as game heads into home stretch

Out of the timeout, Butler slammed down an inbounds pass to tie his career high. A fadeaway by Polite extended FSU’s lead to seven. Duke responded with a lob of their own, which Mark Williams converted for an and-one. Moments later, Keels’ leg got caught underneath him on the defensive end as he went for a loose ball. The true freshman, Duke’s third leading scorer, was unable to put pressure on his right leg as he was helped off the court by his teammates and did not return for the final 10 minutes.

On the same possession, Warley hit both legs of a one-and-one to extend FSU’s lead to six. Duke called their second TO with 9:28 remaining and the ‘Noles up 52-46. Duke was just 2-13 from the field through 11 minutes of second half action.

Polite hits crucial triple

It’s well known that Anthony Polite has struggled from three-point range this season. The senior has shot just 28% from three, but has still helped the Seminoles in many ways. The veteran found his stroke when it mattered. Duke cut the lead to four after another lob to Williams. On the following possession, Polite drained his first triple to extend the lead back to seven, FSU’s largest lead up to that point. The Seminoles led 57-50 at the U8 TO.

‘Noles hold five-point lead at final media TO

FSU entered the double bonus with 4:29 remaining as Mills hit a pair of free throws to extend FSU’s lead to eight. Banchero responded with a critical triple to cut the deficit to five. The Seminoles led 63-58 at the final media timeout. Despite not making a FG for three-plus minutes entering the TO, the game was still in FSU’s control with 3:36 remaining.

The final 3:36 of regulation

After an FSU timeout, Jeremey Roach made one of two free throws to cut FSU’s deficit to four with 3:13 left. On the following possession, Butler responded with a floater in the lane. A put-back jam by Banchero immediately trimmed the lead back to four. Following a missed triple by Polite, Duke cut the lead to two on the third lob of the half to Williams. Hamilton called his third timeout with a 65-63 lead and 1:43 remaining.

Out of the timeout, Butler tried to bank a hook shot off the glass, but it rimmed out. A floater by AJ Griffin tied the game at 65 with 1:09 remaining. FSU followed with an empty possession as Mills missed a three-pointer. Duke called their third timeout with 39 seconds remaining and the game knotted at 65. Heading into Duke’s TO, the Blue Devils were on a 6-0 run and the ‘Noles had made just one of their last eight field goals.

Duke took the lead as Banchero was able to thread a pass to Williams, who converted with another dunk. Hamilton took his last timeout with 14 seconds remaining and trailing by two.

Florida State drew up an iso for Evans out of the timeout, and he converted. The point guard moved to his right as the game clock wound down. With a perfect touch off the glass, Evans connected on a hook shot with one second remaining. Mills swiped the inbounds pass to send the game to overtime.

Overtime

FSU won the tip to start overtime. Mills put FSU in the driver’s seat right away as he drilled a three-pointer, his first. After the two teams traded empty possessions, Williams found success in the paint again to cut the lead to one. Following the made basket, Polite had to leave the game due to a lower body injury. The freshman Cleveland entered in his place.

Moore Jr. gave the lead back to Duke as he drove straight down the lane for a floater. Mills responded with a step-back jumper as the lead changed hands again. Roach found a wide open Griffin in the corner for a triple, as Duke took a 74-72 lead with 2:16 remaining in OT.

Cleveland, who was in the game for the injured Polite, tied the game at 74 with a tough layup. He had a chance to give FSU the lead as he was fouled on the shot, but wasn’t able to convert the free throw. After a miss by each team, Banchero grabbed his own board and made a layup to take the lead with one minute remaining.

Evans sprinted down the floor and found Mills for a triple just seconds later. The Seminoles led 77-76 with 57 seconds remaining.

Wyatt Wilkes committed an off-ball foul on the following possession, which led to a pair of free throws by Banchero. Duke led by one with 31 seconds remaining as Hamilton called his lone OT timeout.

Out of the timeout, Evans was fouled late in the shot clock. With 12.3 seconds remaining, he hit both free throws to give the Seminoles a one-point lead. Duke decided not to take their final timeout. Butler swatted a floater by Moore Jr. and the ball rolled down the court as time expired and the FSU faithful flooded the court.

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Up next: Florida State will host the North Florida Ospreys on Thursday at noon. The game is rescheduled from a December postponement. The game will be on ACCNX. UNF is 4-14.