Duke drops back-and-forth OT game at FSU

For the second time in 11 days, Duke dropped an ACC game to a team from Florida because of a few costly plays in the final moments.

This time, that means final moments of regulation and overtime, with the Blue Devils losing at Florida State 79-78 on Tuesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

RayQuan Evans hit a game-tying layup at the end of regulation, and then hit the tying and go-ahead free throws in the final seconds of overtime to give the Seminoles (11-5, 5-2 ACC) their fourth straight win.

Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr. had a driving shot attempt blocked in the final seconds of overtime.

“He told us if they were to score, just to push,” freshman Paolo Banchero said of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s orders for the end-of-game scenario. “Wendell, he’s been the leader all year. We all trusted him with the ball. It could’ve went either way, but you trust him with it and that’s how it went.”

Krzyzewski had a timeout for the final possession but didn’t call it, preferring to have Moore or Banchero attack off the dribble and not allow FSU to set its defense.

“Basically, you have a chance to advance the ball against a defense that’s not set, or that’s being set, and you want to try to get something to the basket,” Krzyzewski said. “Wendell or Paolo should’ve gotten it, and Wendell went and you’ve gotta try to take it all the way if you’re going.”

Moore said he saw an open lane to the basket and tried to attack it.

A week and a half after Miami scored the final five points to beat Duke by two at Cameron Indoor Stadium, FSU notched a win against the sixth-ranked Blue Devils (14-3, 4-2) – and stormed the court afterward.

Banchero scored 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting, along with 12 rebounds and seven assists. But Duke’s star freshman didn’t attempt a shot in the second half until there were less than five minutes left, at which point he took over with seven points and three assists.

“They played outstanding defense,” Krzyzewski said when asked about Banchero’s second half. “We opened it up more in the last part of the game, and as a result he was able to touch the ball more.”

Duke had a five-point lead at halftime thanks to a 7-0 run to close the first half. It evaporated with FSU scoring the first nine points of the second half, and the Seminoles gradually wrested control of the game with Duke’s offense sputtering.

The lead was 59-50, but Duke reversed the tide by going to a 2-3 zone over the final seven minutes of regulation.

“The zone, I think, worked just because we were able to keep them out of the paint,” Banchero said. “We were able to stay engaged, we were finding their shooters.”

The defensive switch combined with Banchero’s renewed involvement in Duke’s offense pushed the Blue Devils, eventually, into a 67-65 lead with 30 seconds left on a dunk by Mark Williams, who was able to corral a lob from Banchero.

FSU called timeout with 14 seconds left and Duke came out of the timeout in man-to-man defense.

Evans hit a high-arching layup over Banchero and Williams to send the game to overtime.

“Well, you figured they – one, we play man. And they’re going to have something set, we don’t want to – we figured, that’s what we do,” Krzyzewski said of switching out of the zone defense. “I thought our defense was good. We forced a drive going away from the basket and the kid hit a really good shot.

“That was our thought process. You could say the zone would work, and that’s – I don’t fault our guys for what we did at that time.”

Duke played the last half of the second half and overtime without freshman guard Trevor Keels.

With 10:11 left, Keels was defending Caleb Mills when he collided with Mills’ back and fell awkwardly, his right leg folding under the weight of his body for a brief time.

Keels was helped back to the locker room by Jaylen Blakes and Michael Savarino and did not return in the game. He returned to the Blue Devils’ bench in a hoodie with about 4½ minutes left after he was seen running in the hallway outside of Duke’s locker room.

Krzyzewski said Keels’ injury is with a calf, not a knee, but didn’t know the severity immediately after the game.

He also called it the “most physical game” the Blue Devils have played this season.

“I think the only way you learn is through experience. You’re not going to replicate that during a practice session,” Krzyzewski said.