Florida State basketball took down ACC powerhouse Duke

Duke was the favorite, but Florida State made their statement

Stepping into the game, there was no question the Florida State team was hungry for a victory. Fresh off two straight wins against ranked teams, the ‘Noles marched into the Civic Center with swagger. Their opponent, number  7 Duke, was missing their identity with the legendary Coach K sidelined after undergoing back surgery.

As soon as the game was underway the Florida State crowd fed off the team’s energy. From the first moment the infamous Duke star, Grayson Allen, touched the ball, the crowd booed. One of the biggest narratives of the first half seemed to be the FSU fan chatter getting into the head of Grayson Allen.

After all, these fans have seen nothing but buffoonery in Allen’s national headlines. It was just a season ago that Grayson tripped Florida State guard, Xavier Rathan-Mayes. Allen’s antics recently even pushed Coach K to strip him of his captaincy. The Seminoles fan base went all out as over 20 fans brought signs insulting Grayson Allen.

The first half was a back and fourth battle, as Terance Mann and Dwayne Bacon set the tone early to help build some momentum for the Seminoles. Duke sharpshooter, Luke Kennard, made it difficult for the ‘Noles as it seemed like he wouldn’t miss a shot in the first half. Florida State went into the half with a modest 4-point lead. Heading into the locker room, it was clear this Seminoles team wouldn’t back down from the heavyweight fight with their seventh ranked ACC counterpart.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE BABYYYY!!!!

A photo posted by Dwayne Bacon (@dlbj4) on Jan 10, 2017 at 8:10pm PST

Once the second half got under way, it seemed the Duke offense was ready to take command. A Kennard jumper gave Duke a two-point lead minutes after the intermission, but Florida State wasn’t ready to bow down. The Seminoles responded with a 16-4 run forcing the Blue Devils to call a timeout. At this point the FSU crowd was electric. After this, Duke would never be given the chance to retake the lead.

When things got gritty late in the second half, Xavier Rathan-Mayes emerged and took control of this matchup. XRM has been a constant part of the ‘Noles success, but his late game outburst may have been his best outing of the season. Shot after shot fell in for him and he finished the game with 21 points. Terance Mann followed up his 22 point outing against Virginia Tech with a 6-of-7 shooting effort and 13 points.

Can you hear us now?? ☺️

A photo posted by Jonathan Isaac (@jonisaac_01) on Jan 10, 2017 at 8:41pm PST

The Seminoles improved to 4-0 in the ACC conference and are sitting at 16-1 on the season. Already ranked ninth heading into the matchup, the sky is truly the limit for this team. It won’t get easier from here: Florida State will face the 11th ranked UNC Tar Heels in their next matchup. But for now, it seems ‘Noles fans and players alike can celebrate their victorious outing against the dominant Duke Blue Devils. And who said Florida State wasn’t a basketball school?

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