Paolo Banchero scored 17 points to lead six players in double figures as No. 9 Duke defeated visiting Florida State 88-70 on Saturday night at Durham, N.C.
Duke (23-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) moved a game ahead of Notre Dame, which lost earlier in the day at Wake Forest, atop the ACC standings.
Wendell Moore Jr.’s 16 points, A.J. Griffin’s 15, Trevor Keels’ 13 points, Joey Baker’s 12 points off the bench and Mark Williams’ 10 also gave the Blue Devils a boost.
It was largely a smooth outing as the Blue Devils avenged a 79-78 overtime setback from Jan. 18 against a Florida State team with a vastly different lineup, due to a rash of injuries.
Matthew Cleveland’s 16 points led Florida State (14-12, 7-9). Jalen Warley added 15 points and Tanor Ngom had 11.
Duke, which won its fourth consecutive game, was up 70-52 with 10 minutes remaining in the second-to-last home game for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils have road assignments at Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh before the March 5 regular-season finale against North Carolina.
Krzyzewski was back on the bench after missing the second half of Tuesday night’s two-point victory against visiting Wake Forest.
Baker connected on 4 of 5 3-point shots – all in the first half – which helped account for Duke’s 11-for-28 shooting from beyond the arc. Overall, the Blue Devils hit 51.6 percent of their shots from the field.
Duke took advantage of the new-look Florida State lineup, posting a 41-23 rebounding advantage. Banchero led that category with eight boards.
Florida State, unlike a week earlier when it trailed by 18 points before scoring in a lopsided loss at North Carolina, hung with the Blue Devils for most of the first half.
But Duke went on a 12-2 surge across the final three minutes of the half for a 52-41 halftime lead. Baker connected on two 3s during that surge.
–Field Level Media