January 29, 2004.
Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Box Score | Photos | Photos 2

A listless Duke team and home crowd held FSU at arm's length for about 35 minutes, and then came to life in the last minute to stave off a valiant comeback by the Seminoles. Offensively, I haven't seen a Duke team stand around like that for quite some time, and it really hurt Duke in the second half. That was a bit surprising for a team that has executed so well in the halfcourt this year. They seemed so ready for the game to be over that they stopped concentrating on each play, and didn't notice that FSU kept coming at that. Fortunately, this team plays defense so well that they were able to force the 'noles to take a lot of time during each possession, and came up with some huge defensive plays down the stretch.

This was the ugliest game I'd seen from Duke since the Detroit win, and it seemed like they were reverting to some bad habits for a while on offense. While a lot of this was due to the ferocious defense brought to bear, there was still an awful lot of standing around, particularly late in the game. This was also a flashback to past Duke games where excellent defense was nullified because their opponent managed to get one (or more) offensive rebounds. All of that aside, Duke's offense was explosive enough in spurts to create a bit of space, and the defense clamped down on a team that's still learning to score (and win) in close games.

Duke opened up the scoring with a three from JJ Redick, but missed twice and turned the ball over 3 times on their next five possessions as the 'noles broke out to a 7-3 lead. One-time Duke target Michael Joiner got 2 of those points thanks to his persistence on the offensive boards. Duke's captain, Chris Duhon, took matters into his own hands with a floater that turned into a three point play. FSU's Tim Pickett turned the ball over, and the result was Ewing driving in and dishing off to Shavlik Randolph for a dunk. Shav came in quickly to replace a curiously ineffective Shelden Williams, and he gave Duke a nice presence throughout the game.

After another FSU turnover, Ewing drove and hit a 10' baseline jumper. FSU's Von Wafer missed a three, and Ewing made them pay with a pull-up three of his own. Speedy Todd Galloway was pressured into taking a bad three, and Redick found a gap and sank a 17' jumper. With around twelve minutes to go in the half, Duke led 14-7. Duke had chances to extend their lead, but turned the ball over on 3 straight possessions, while Wafter notched a three. Duhon and Randolph sparked the team once again, as Duhon made an unbelievable wraparound pass to Shav that he managed to catch and lay in. Luol Deng joined the proceedings after missing some early shots by getting a steal and finding Redick on the break. Duke led 18-10 and looked to be in good shape, as FSU had trouble countering their running game.

FSU went to its senior leader in Pickett, who scored 5 straight points. Deng broke that up with a 15' jumper, and Redick drove and found Randolph for a dunk. With eight minutes to go, Duke led 22-15. That advantage was slim, but crucial in a game where points were coming at a premium. Ant Richardson pulled FSU within 22-17, but the Devils embarked on a run that would give them a bigger cushion. A Randolph rebound went out to Duhon, who found Redick for a three. Duhon then drove all the way to the basket and kicked it out to Redick for another three. FSU was reeling as Shav blocked a shot all the way out to Ewing, who hit Duhon in stride for a layup. Duke looked ready to blow the game wide open.

That never quite happened, as FSU took a timeout and got their act together. An immediate score settled their nerves, but 2 free throws from Williams and Redick countered their own points, as Duke settled into a 34-22 halftime lead. Duke missed 3 shots down the stretch and FSU 2, as neither team scored a single point during the last two minutes of the half. Redick's long-range shots gave him 15 of Duke's 34 points, though six different players scored. Shav had 5 rebounds and 2 blocks to go along with 6 points. The team shot only 43%, but had a big lead because they held FSU to 29% and forced 10 turnovers. The 'noles prevented a blowout thanks to their 21-17 margin on the boards.

Duke extended their lead when Duhon scored on a give-and-go with Redick, but FSU scored 4 in a row, the last basket on a Duhon turnover that led to a Pickett basket. The Seminoles were within 36-26 and were forcing Duke into uncharacteristic errors. Deng blew by the defense for one of his weird-looking drives, and after missed shots by both teams, Redick found another seam for a 17' jumper. Once again, Duke was keeping FSU at arm's length because there were able to keep scoring. Shelden Williams then blocked a shot and grabbed the rebound. He then tried to outlet it to nobody in particular, and Pickett stepped in front of the pass for an easy dunk. JJ lobbed it to Luol for a score, but another Duke turnover led to some beautiful ball movement for FSU as Andrew Wilson hit a three. Once again, Duke led by just 10 with under eleven minutes to go.

The Devils responded with their last run of the game, this one a 7-2 bulge. Duhon found Randolph inside, but Alex Johnson was fouled and hit 2 freebies. Duhon drove and was fouled, hitting both. Sean Dockery picked Galloway's pocket, and Redick took advantage with what seemed like a dagger of a three. With nine minutes to go, Duke led 49-34 and looked ready to finish off their opponent. Duke had 2 chances to increased that lead, but Duhon turned the ball over and Pickett was fouled, hitting 2.

That was the start of an incredibly ugly stretch of basketball that can only be called a "run" in the sense that FSU was occasionally scoring, and Duke wasn't. FSU outscored Duke 15-2 over the next eight minutes as the Devils were desperately trying to run out the clock, get one last score, and get one big defensive stop. The Devils missed 6 shots, 2 free throws and had an offensive foul during this stretch, though they did manage to take 2 charges. FSU, desperately scratching their way back into the game, had a three and a layup after offensive rebounds. A Wafer three with a minute left led to a Duke timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Duke was looking to run Redick off a screen. Duhon had the ball, and he noticed that his man suddenly left him when the screen was set so as to harass Redick. It was almost shades of Ray Felton running away from Todd Galloway in FSU's big comeback win against the Heels in Tallahassee, because Duhon pulled up and hit his only three of the game. Cameron exploded as his teammates embraced him when the 'noles took a timeout. Duke had a five-point bulge, but there were still 39 seconds left. Wafer tried to inbound the ball and Sean Dockery (who had been shuttled in and out of the game for Redick) intercepted the ball. I noted to my friends, "Who threw that pass, Chris Rix?" Sean was fouled but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Sean then picked off another pass, and his shot was knocked out of bounds. The ball was inbounded and eventually found its way to Redick, who stood there smiling as he waited to be fouled. Coach K took a seat on the bench when Redick was fouled, because he knew this game was over. JJ hit both shots and FSU couldn't convert at the buzzer. The Devils had escaped and rose to the occasion.

Not every game is going to be a thing of beauty where every player is at their career best. What's important for a good team is finding a way to win these games and having role players step up. Dockery and Randolph have very patiently been coming off the bench the past few games, but neither has pouted or whined about playing time. Instead, both bided their time and when the opportunity to make a major contribution arose, they seized it. For Duhon, this was a game that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is his team and that he's quite capable of making game-winning plays when called upon. It may have been winning ugly, but only the first part of that phrase will be remembered down the line.

Negatives:

1. Rebounding. Duke had been solid on the boards all year, but they had their butts handed to them here. FSU had an incredible 20 offensive rebounds, which was the only thing that allowed them to make their comeback. Williams' lackluster play spilled into his effort on the boards in this game.

2. Execution. As Coach K noted, the players depended too much on Duhon to create, as though he were a Jason Williams-type scorer. He's not, and he depends on his teammates moving to the right spot and drawing away defenders for maximum effectiveness.

3. Focus. After finishing off so many opponents this year with strong end-of-game play, Duke seemed out of synch in the second half, especially after the big scoring run.

Positives:

1. Ball pressure. Duke forced FSU into a number of mistakes, and those 2 steals down the stretch obviously sealed the win. Kudos to Dockery for picking up his play after an off-game.

2. Post defense. In past years, the good looks FSU got going to the basket (especially from Duke pest Adam Waleskowski) would have meant a bunch of easy baskets. In this game, the quick reactions of Randolph & Williams prevented these baskets, either by blocking the shot or just getting in the way. Waleskowski wound up 0-8 from the floor, and 0-5 in the post.

3. Winning attitude. Despite Duke's lead crumbling a bit, they knew they still had the upper hand and one never sensed that they were falling apart. In fact, FSU's comeback and some of the improbable shots they made served to focus the team when they needed it the most. One could also see the closeness of the team after big plays by Duhon and Dockery.

Player-by-Player:

 ** Williams: Right away, one could see that Shelden's head just wasn't in the game. He walked, then took an awkward shot inside. Later, after a rebound, he turned the ball over for a score. It's to FSU's credit that they absolutely blanketed Shelden with three different guys in order to keep him off balance, with huge frosh Johnson doing a fine job in bodying him up. That aside, Shelden didn't forget to play defense, blocking several shots and keeping Johnson in check. It was an offensive game to forget, but Williams otherwise fulfilled his role.

** Deng: Luol's shot just wasn't falling, and one could sense that he also was having trouble focusing for some reason. I have no problem with him pulling up either from three or from 15' (his two favorite spots), but he's not quite yet adept at hitting difficult shots on the move. In general, he just didn't have his shooting touch, missing all 3 of his threes and both foul shots. Luol did play solid defense on the likes of Joiner and Richardson (taking a charge) and got a bunch of boards, but it was obvious that he had lost some of his confidence in his game, and that made him tentative. It can be very difficult for a player to fully internalize the "next play" philosophy, especially a freshman, but I expect Luol to come up big in many games down the stretch.

 ** Ewing: Dan was yet another player who seemed out of synch for most of the game, especially on the offensive end. His injury (he fell to the ground after getting tangled up with Duhon) certainly didn't help matters any, though he did battle his way back. Other than a brief stretch in the first half when he scored all 5 of his points, the shots that he normally makes kept clanging off the rim. The defensive effort was still there, as evidenced by a charge taken. Really, every Duke player was solid on the defensive end in this game.

 ** Redick: Fighting against something flu-related, JJ was on fire in this game. He carried the team in the first half with his shooting, passed the ball well, and didn't try to do too much. Coach K was shuffling him in and out of the lineup in the second half in order to keep pumping him full of fluids, and one could see how tired he was. Still, he hit a huge shot with nine minutes to go that Duke a cushion they were able to live off of for most of the game. He hit 2 big free throws after Duke had gone scoreless for nearly five minutes, and then hit the game-clinching freebies. All this, and he took a charge. A gutty game for a guy who likes to be in the game when things are tight. The hotter the game action, the cooler he gets.

 ** Duhon: For the first time in a long while, Chris had more turnovers than assists in a game. He also missed a lot of tough driving layups and was beaten a few times on defense. Put that all aside, because the captain came through in the clutch. It's one thing for Chris to hit a three when he's hot and the game is well in hand, but it's quite another for him to make that shot after a tough game when he hadn't been hitting and the game was on the line. Nate Johnson and Todd Galloway both did a good job in disrupting and bumping him, preventing him from going as far as he would have liked on his drives and hurrying his other shots. Duhon's turnover were not all necessarily his fault; a few were caused by his teammates not coming over to help him out when he got isolated in trying to create something. Another came when he tried to do too much and charged on his way to the basket. FSU really did play him perfectly...almost too perfectly, because when they opted to double-team Redick down the stretch, Chris almost took that as an insult, and he canned the three as a result.

 ** Randolph: When Shelden was pulled after his slow start, I was pleased by the look on Shav's face. It was one of total confidence, a look that said, in Al Haig fashion, "I'm in charge here." In the first half, Shav was 3-3 from the field, had 5 boards and 2 blocks in 14 minutes. His rebounds were crucial ones, with his three defensive boards halting FSU's early scoring. Late in the half, he had an incredible sequence. First he blocked a shot out of bounds. Then he stole the ball and tossed it to Ewing downcourt. Dan missed, but Shav got the offensive board and passed it out to JJ for a three. He grabbed a defensive board after a Pickett miss and Duke scored again. Shav then blocked a shot and tapped it to Ewing, who passed to Duhon for a fast break basket. The great thing about him is that he's embraced his role and is learning to excel within that role, rather than worry about what he's not doing (like taking threes). Excelling within one's role is the key to expanding it later on. Remember--Christian Laettner didn't start taking many threes until his junior year.

 ** Dockery: Sean was assigned to the speedy Todd Galloway, a player that tormented Duke last year. Galloway was a non-factor in the 7 minutes that he played with Dock draped all over him. The problem that Sean had in this game was that he just wouldn't take the open jumper. There was one play where the ball was reversed over to him for a wide-open three, but he hesitated for several seconds, and then drove in to try a much harder shot that missed. Still, his 2 steals in the last minute finished off the 'noles and pumped his team up. Dock is a defensive specialist and he certainly excelled in that role in this game.

** Cameron Craziness: The students were picking on frosh Van Wafer by droningly chanting his name and holding up boxes of Nilla Wafers; this didn't seem to have much of an effect. Chants of "wide right" could be heard whenever an FSU player was attempting a free throw. And of course, one could hear "our house!" being chanted during crucial moments. In the last two minutes or so, everyone was standing, including the folks above the brass rail.

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