Duke's relatively easy road victory over Florida State was indicative of a few things. First, it pointed out how their tough preseason schedule made a showdown against a ranked opponent a routine event. Indeed, Duke's last three opponents (and four out of five) have all been highly ranked. Second, Duke has picked up a number of signature wins, something FSU has not. Third, this was Duke's seventh true road game of the season; they're quite used to hostile arenas. Lastly, we're at the point where the frosh are starting to transform into dependable, confident players who understand what the stakes are in conference play. Throw in a week to prepare and you saw a focused Duke team that was ready for anything. That said, even in a 17-point rout on the road, things weren't perfect. Duke put FSU on the line 19 times and gave up too many wide-open threes. The Devils were in a position on several occasions to completely bury the Seminoles but gave up second shots and wide-open threes. FSU got as close as 3 points in the second half before Duke reasserted its will, but the Devils simply relaxed too much on the defensive end. The next step for Duke will be going for the knockout punch when they have an opponent reeling. The great news for Duke is that Jasmine Thomas is getting help scoring and handling the ball. We'll see if this can become a game-to-game trend.

Duke Blue Devils Team Box Score

PTS FG FG % 3FG 3FG % FT FT% A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 40 17-36 47.2 5-12 41.7 1-1 100.0 10 5-12-17 1 5 5 8 2nd 47 17-29 58.6 3-5 60.0 10-15 66.7 7 6-17-23 2 1 8 8 TOT 87 34-65 52.3 8-17 47.1 11-16 68.8 17 11-29-40 3 6 13 16

Florida State Team Box Score PTS FG FG % 3FG 3FG % FT FT% A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 30 10-25 40.0 3-8 37.5 7-10 70.0 2 6-13-19 1 2 14 4 2nd 40 14-35 40.0 6-11 54.5 6-9 66.7 10 6-9-15 2 4 5 10 TOT 70 24-60 40.0 9-19 47.4 13-19 68.4 12 12-22-34 3 6 19 14 Please support DWHoops with a site membership today! Click Here to Learn More