After a largely successful nonconference portion of the schedule, Duke survived a rocky start to Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The No. 6 Blue Devils trailed by four at halftime Wednesday before rallying for an 85-79 home win in its ACC opener over Georgia Tech, which limped through a mediocre nonconference showing.
Duke (12-1, 1-0 ACC) will look for a more complete performance against another projected ACC bottom-dweller in its first conference road game at Florida State (7-7, 0-1) on Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, Fla.
“Our guys, without going through this before, they’re learning very quickly that from this point forward, you’ve got to fight, scrap and claw for every game you play,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
National Player of the Year contender Cameron Boozer lived up to the hype in his ACC debut, scoring 26 points and adding 12 rebounds. He leads the nation in scoring (23.5 points per game) and is 15th in rebounds (10.2).
The potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft has led the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding in each of the last seven games.
Duke’s defense, though, delivered a very underwhelming showing against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets, who are shooting 46% from the floor and 36.5% from 3-point range on the season, made 29 of 54 shots (53.7%) and went 10 of 18 (55.6%) from distance.
“We have to address (our defense),” Scheyer said. “I think there’s definitely a lack of fight, if you want to call it that, on the defensive end. I have to help them be prepared better.”
The Seminoles enter this weekend’s game still looking for their first win over a major-conference opponent. After a close early-season loss at then-No. 10 Florida, the last four games against such teams have all been double-digit losses.
That includes a 79-66 setback at No. 12 North Carolina in Tuesday’s ACC opener. It was just a six-point deficit at halftime, but the Seminoles shot just 31.6% after halftime (23.8% from 3-point range on 5-of-21 shooting) to allow the Tar Heels to pull away.
Chauncey Wiggins led the team with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Florida State shot 30% (12 of 40) from the perimeter in the loss, its 12th straight game making less than 35% of its 3-point shots.
Even in a losing effort, first-year coach Luke Loucks was encouraged by his team’s effort, something he hasn’t always seen through the Seminoles’ up-and-down start.
“It’s a building year for sure, but if we play as hard as we played tonight, we’re going to win a lot of games in the ACC,” Loucks said. “… We’re not going to face 18 Dukes and UNCs. We have to keep our foot on the gas. We have to trust that open shots are eventually going to fall. We created some open looks.”
Scheyer, in his fourth season as Duke head coach, is 3-0 all-time against Florida State. The Blue Devils have won four straight and nine of 10 in the series.
