College basketball

'Noles bottom out against Blue Devils

DUKE 72, FSU 56: Blue Devils get revenge, and loss leaves Florida State last in ACC.

By KEVIN BRAFFORD
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 7, 2003

DURHAM, N.C. -- A couple of nice wins and many close losses aside, Leonard Hamilton's first season at Florida State will most be remembered for this: the Seminoles' first solo last-place finish in their 12 seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

That sobering fact was secured with an exclamation point Thursday night in a 72-56 loss to No.10 Duke, a margin not indicative of the Blue Devils domination. The Seminoles (13-14, 4-12) hardly resembled the team that upset the Blue Devils (21-5, 11-4) in Tallahassee a little more than a month ago, nor the one that whipped Virginia by 14 on Saturday.

Instead, the Seminoles had more turnovers (11) than points (seven) 14 minutes into the game and walked off the floor at halftime with a bad case of double vision, trailing 40-20.

Optimists would look to the second half, in which FSU outscored Duke 36-32, for hope, but the Blue Devils mission had been accomplished.

Worse still, a full week will pass before amends can be made. While its eight conference rivals will battle Saturday and Sunday, FSU is done until the ACC tournament begins Thursday in Greensboro, N.C. The Seminoles likely will face North Carolina that night in the play-in game for the right to play the tournament's top seed.

"That's the position we've earned," Hamilton said of finishing ninth in the league. "It is what it is. What we have to do now is make sure we use this period to grow as a team."

The Seminoles played hard against Duke, but their execution didn't match their effort against a foe still seething from its 75-70 loss in their first meeting. The open lanes FSU found that night didn't exist on this one.

"They didn't look like the same team that we beat," said guard Tim Pickett, who scored 11. "They were more aggressive, and we didn't match their intensity."

It was 13-2 Duke five minutes in, and 28-7 almost nine minutes later. The Seminoles scored on only three of their first 27 possessions.

"Our offensive system broke down," Hamilton said. "Their team defense seemed to keep us two or three offensive zones from where we wanted to be."

FSU had 15 turnovers in the first half and made just seven of 24 shots (29.2 percent). The Seminoles had a season-high 24 turnovers in the game.

"Our defense was really good, especially in the first half," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "To hold any team to 20 points, that's great."

The Seminoles' lone bright spot was reserve senior forward Mike Mathews, who scored 18 in the second half.

Duke, which won its 28th consecutive game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, had six players with nine or more points.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright