An expression you hear a lot in basketball. He did another play with us.
Or as Wendell Moore, Jr. put it, "At the end of the day, the ball didn't bounce our way."
Florida State scored one more game than Duke and the ball bounced its way as a result and FSU dismissed Duke 79-78 in overtime on Tuesday night in Tallahassee.
I don't know what game it was or what boom it was. They are expressions. But when you lose by a point in overtime, every mistake, every great play becomes bigger.
This could have been a big road victory. Duke was dismissed the most in the second half. Poor rebounding and turnover were again the culprits, two recurring themes this season.
"I thought it was the most physical sport we've been in," Mike Krzyzewski said. “He knocked us back for most of the first half. Early in the second half, he dominated the first four minutes and set a tone.”
Paulo Banchero admitted, "He did a good job crashing." "Just flying in there and getting your hands on the balls, getting tips and put-backs and just casually coming in there and getting up there."
Seven of the Dukes in the state of Florida had 19 aggressive rebellions and forced 15 turnovers while doing only five. He had 18 more field-goal attempts than Duke,
Duke made a determined comeback from a 59-50 deficit with 6:53 remaining, 61-53 with 5:18 remaining.
Duke had to zone in to slow down the Seminoles and he stretched and played in overtime without Trevor Kielce, who went down with a calf injury.
But twice the duke had a chance to pull it off, but didn't get the stop he needed. Trailing 67-65 with two seconds remaining in regulation, Florida State tied it on a lay-up by Reckon Evans.
Krzyzewski said Duke defended well but Evans made a "really good shot."
Duke led 76–74 in overtime, but Caleb Mills held the home team to 3 with only one minute remaining. Paulo Banchero pitted Duke back with a pair of foul shots, with 36 seconds left. But Jeremy Roach fouled Evans within 12 seconds. He hit both foul shots.
Still, there's plenty of time to get it out. Duke hands the ball to Wendell Moore, Jr.
Mike Krzyzewski said the goal was to get the ball into the hands of Banchero or Moore.
"Basically, if you have a chance to advance the ball against a defense that isn't set, you want to try to get something in the basket. Wendell went and if you're going you have to hit it all the way." Will have to try to take it away."
Moore didn't quite make it. He pulls short and the shot is blocked.
Moore's take?
“Just trying to get the best possible shot. I felt like I had an alley for the basket so I just attacked that.”
Of course, a lot of basketball happened before those final fiery minutes and a case could be made that Duke lost the game at the start of the second half. The Blue Devils ended the first half 7–0 and took a 38–33 lead in the locker room.
But the first six minutes or so of the second half was an untold disaster. The tone was set on the first possession, when Florida State captured four offensive rebels before scoring. It took Duke 3:32 before Moore scored a 3-pointer, even in the second half.
FSU also kicked Banchero out of the game. The untimely freshman did not even attempt a field goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half; He missed a wrong shot.
But he handled the vibe. Krzyzewski said the duke spread the floor to give him more room to operate.
Banchero scored seven points in the final five minutes of regulation and added three assists.
Enough to get close.
The damage drops Duke 4-2 acc, 14-3 on aggregate, while the resurgent Seminoles are 5-2 and 11-5.
Banchero led all with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Mark Williams added 15 points and seven rebounds, Moore 13.
Mills led FSU with 18 points. As is common, the deep Seminoles used their depth well, outscoring Duke 23-13 off the bench.
Syracuse next, at noon on Saturday, suddenly had a crucial game in which Duke is once again one game behind in the losing column to Miami. And Krzyzewski said it's too early to know anything about Kielce's availability.