Florida State battles but falls short at No. 17 Duke

It felt for a small second that Florida State had a chance. It was back and forth early, Darin Green Jr. was making tough shots, Duke's offense wasn't making them, and FSU was doing a good job contending on the glass.

Then Ryan Young entered the game.

Young, a graduate transfer who averaged a career 8.7 PPG and 5.1 RPG before this season has been dynamite rebounding the ball all year for the Blue Devils, and he made a massive impact on this game. Against Florida State's switching defense, Young had 12 points, 5 rebounds (3 of them offensively), and an assist when the defense threw three people at him and he kicked out for an open 3. All this for a +11 +/- for him as Duke entered halftime with a 42-25 lead and had full control of the game.

Florida State couldn't get downhill, couldn't get rebounds, couldn't even hit rim on some late shot clock attempts. Cam Corhen sat out most of the first half with two fouls, which definitely played a part, but nothing was going right for this team early.

They started the second half with good energy, but could never get the lead below 11. Any inkling of momentum was met with a missed free throw or an offensive foul. Even when they'd generate a momentum-building play, like a backside lob, a foul was called on the floor instead. The game was over once FSU got a transition opportunity and Matthew Cleveland threw it too far out in front for Darin Green Jr. Instead of getting a chance to cut the lead to 10, Duke got a timeout and took off on their way to a 86-67 win.

Caleb Mills was the only one that could get something going all game for FSU, as the only reliable shot creator that can break down a defense and get to the bucket. He drew a ton of fouls, especially early on in the second half. He'd finish with 18 points. Him missing the two free throws to start the game was a foreshadowing of the whole game though.

Darin Green Jr. had two buckets in the first couple of minutes, but it was hard for him to find a rhythm after that. He was getting the ball in late clock scenarios and just having to throw something up, and he's someone that needs to have the ball in his hands more. It's no coincidence that FSU started getting some momentum in the second half once he got the ball, having a stretch of 7 points in 1 minute and 5 seconds to get the lead down to 11. He finished with 16 points on 7/15 shooting.

Matthew Cleveland really struggled early on, shooting just 1/7 in the first half with more travel calls than made shots (one deserved, one... not so much). He got to the free throw line in the second half which got him some points and into double figures, but he really just couldn't get to the basket as easily as he wanted or is used to. Credit to him for getting to the free throw line though, he's been much better from the stripe since last season and it's led to his confidence. He shot 8 free throws in the second half alone, alone making all of them, and he also finishes with his 4th straight double-double. To finish with 18 points and 10 rebounds is no small feat.

No one else for FSU could really get it going.

As mentioned above, Ryan Young was the X-Factor for Duke. He was dominating against the switches, bullying smaller FSU defenders. After having 12 and 5 in the first half, he would finish with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Jaylen Blakes was giving Duke what it needed early as the beneficiary of a lot of wide open kickouts. He tied his career high points with 17. Dariq Whitehead chipped in 16 strong points against a team he heavily considered in his recruitment. It was pretty funny to see him and Cleveland each get a technical for chirping with each other headed to a media timeout huddle.

Kyle Filipowski was held to a career-low 6 points; just didn't seem like the right matchup for him in this, especially with Young dominating the way he was. Same goes for Dereck Lively, who didn't even attempt a shot.

FSU falls to 4-11, and will get a week off before playing Georgia Tech at home on the 7th.

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