In what could've been the biggest upset of the Luke Loucks era, FSU can't complete the late rally.
Florida State basketball walked in ready to face its biggest test yet in the form of No. 1 Duke.
The Seminoles nearly come away with shocking the world.
The Noles led at halftime before Duke went on an early second half run. But Robert McCray V's final three-point attempt rimmed out, as the Blue Devils survived 80-79 on Thursday.
FSU set itself up to potentially end the game off a walk-off basket. Chauncey Wiggins blocked a Cameron Boozer shot with seven seconds remaining. But again, McCray's would-be basket never fell inside the hoop.
Florida State entered the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament with slim hopes of cracking the field of 68 ahead of Selection Sunday. Even despite beating likely March Madness contenders Miami and Clemson before the ACC Tourney. No doubt a victory over Duke would've forced the selection committee to place FSU in the bracket somewhere.
But Duke's astonishing 19-2 run became too much to overcome in the end for the Noles. Maliq Brown of Duke helped swing the momentum back to the top seed's way with two impressive defensive stops. He also helped get Duke to out-rebound FSU 46-25, with Brown grabbing 12 off the glass.
Duke still struggled with containing Lajae Jones as he delivered an astonishing 28 points on the Devils. McCray was equally efficient on the scoring end in dropping 25.
FSU even took advantage of two notable absences on Duke's side: Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II, the latter dealing with a late foot issue that will keep him out of the rest of the conference tournament.
Wiggins finished with 13 points but no other FSU player surpassed the 10-point mark. The Seminoles also struggled with getting bench production. Martin Sommerville led the reserves by getting only six points. He was the only bench player to score as Kobe MaGee was held scoreless.
Thomas Bassong finished with five points while Alex Steen scored just two. Steen led in rebounds, though, by getting eight on the evening. Steen also delivered two blocks to lead the defensive charge.
Boozer scored 23 points but wasn't the leading scorer. Isaiah Evans took that title by producing 32 points. Luke Loucks' defensive pressure, however, prevented other members of Duke from surpassing double-digits in points.
Florida State now will likely await a bid in the National Invitational Tournament while Duke advances on.
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