Duke Defeats Florida State
#5 Duke avenged its earlier home loss to #15 Florida State by returning the favor last night, defeating the Seminoles 74-66. With the win, Duke improves to 24-4 and is now tied with #8 North Carolina for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Both teams share a 24-4 overall record and 11-2 conference record.
The Blue Devils were led by Andre Dawkins’ 22 points off the bench, while Austin Rivers added another 20. Surprisingly, Duke was able to win despite being outrebounded. Florida State had the rebounding edge, 37-30. From a scoring standpoint, the Seminoles were led by Michael Snaer’s 18 points. Bernard James added 13 points and 9 rebounds.
With the loss, Florida State drops to a very respectful 19-8, with a 10-3 conference record. That is good enough for third in the conference standings. See below. Florida State has little time to rest, however, as it must head on the road to Miami and Virginia for its next two games. Both teams are in the top half of the standings. The finale is a home game against Clemson.
Duke’s next two games are against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. As is the case every year, its season will conclude against North Carolina on March 3.
With only three regular season games remaining for all teams, here are the updated standings:
| Team | Conf. W-L | Tot. W-L |
| Duke | 11-2 | 24-4 |
| North Carolina | 11-2 | 24-4 |
| Florida St. | 10-3 | 19-8 |
| Virginia | 8-5 | 21-6 |
| N.C. State | 7-6 | 18-10 |
| Miami (Fla.) | 7-6 | 16-10 |
| Maryland | 6-7 | 16-11 |
| Clemson | 6-7 | 14-13 |
| Virginia Tech | 4-9 | 15-13 |
| Wake Forest | 3-10 | 12-15 |
| Boston College | 3-10 | 8-19 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-11 | 9-18 |
The Confidential 