ACC Hoops: Duke Demolishes Florida State, 100-62

Durham NC: The Duke Blue Devils (26-3, 17-1 ACC) had another glorified practice against the Florida State Seminoles (16-13, 7-11 ACC) as they won their 11th ACC win by 25+ points winning 100-65. This is the Blue Devils 3rd time scoring 100 points in the last 5 games as they’ve averaged close to 99 points a game in that stretch. The Blue Devils set a school record with their 17th ACC regular season win with 2 games remaining in the ACC slate. 

Junior guard Tyrese Proctor did not play Saturday as he is recovering from a bone bruise he got earlier in the week against Miami. The absence of Proctor gave way to the first career start for “Showtime Slim”, Isiah Evans. Evans got off to a sluggish start, but once the butterflies eased, Evans found his stroke. Evans led the Blue Devils in scoring with 19 points, going 4-13 from the arc. 

In the second straight game, the Blue Devils had an injury scare. Midway through the first half, Cooper Flagg took a blow to the face that saw him leave the floor and head to the locker room. The Blue Devils are already playing without transfer Maliq Brown and Tyrese Proctor. Coach Jon Scheyer said the blow reminded him of his career ending injury that kept him from playing in the NBA. Flagg did not return in the first half, but did start the second. 

After scoring 4 points before the injury, Flagg returned in the second half and scored 12 to finish with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 20 minutes of play. Khaman Maluach secured his 5th double double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Kon Knueppel once again had a performance overshadowed by Flagg and Maluach as he scored 14 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists. 

The entire Duke bench got to play. With the injury to Flagg in the first half, Scheyer turned to Darren Harris who played a season high 17 minutes and scored 6 points. In a fairy tale-esq ending, walk-on favorite Spencer Hubbard entered the game in the last 3 minutes. Hubbard then gets a steal and finishes a tough layup at the rim that made Cameron explode. Then, in the final seconds, Hubbard drained a wide open three to give him a career high 5 points and got the Devils to the century mark.

The Blue Devils now begin their week against two desperate bubble teams. On a quick turnaround, the Blue Devils host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the final home game for the Devils this season. They then travel to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels, winners of 5 in a row. Despite their dominant season, the Blue Devils hold a slim lead over the Clemson Tigers and Louisville Cardinals in the ACC standings.  The Blue Devils have a one game lead over both as they hold the tiebreaker against the Cardinals, but will fall to second with a loss since Clemson owns the tiebreaker over them.