No. 2 Duke has been excelling in most areas, and yet it’s not all good news going into the weekend.
The Blue Devils could be down a couple of players, as injuries have struck at an inopportune time.
So how Duke reacts to the latest roster fluctuations will be worth charting when Florida State arrives in Durham, N.C., for Saturday night’s Atlantic Coast Conference game.
Duke (25-3, 16-1) has a five-game winning streak, with an average margin of 31 points. With eight conference victories by more than 25 points, it’s the most at that level in one season in ACC history.
“We know what’s ahead,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “We know the battles we’re going to be in. We know it can happen any night.”
Junior guard Tyrese Proctor left with a knee injury during Duke’s 97-60 romp Tuesday night at Miami. He’s out indefinitely, though it’s not believed to be a season-ending ailment.
Florida State (16-12, 7-10) has lost back-to-back games and will aim for only its third road victory this season.
Duke, already without injured reserve post player Maliq Brown, apparently will be minus Proctor for the Florida State game. Proctor, who led the Blue Devils in scoring in three games in February, reached 1,000 career points before exiting in the first half Tuesday.
So there could be a heightened role for freshman Isaiah Evans, who has had a recent uptick in production and started the second half of the Miami game.
“Isaiah has established himself with what he has done,” Scheyer said. “It’s easy to talk about the shooting. His defense has been off the charts. He’s guarding the ball as well as anybody.”
Evans made five 3-pointers in the first half Tuesday. In the last three games, he’s averaging 16.7 points and has shot 13-for-19 on 3-pointers.
“You’ve just got to trust yourself at the end of the day,” Evans said.
Florida State has allowed 89 and 96 points, respectively, in its last two games, so defense will be important for the Seminoles.
Guard Jamir Watkins has been Florida State’s top scorer in six of the last seven games. The redshirt senior is averaging 18.4 points per game, including a career-high 26 on Monday night in a 96-85 loss to visiting North Carolina.
The Seminoles also received a season-best 16 points from Jerry Deng, who contributed four of the team’s 10 baskets from 3-point range.
“Every time he plays, he gets better,” coach Leonard Hamilton said. “When you think about it, he should still be in high school for his senior year. But he came out a year early. He has made tremendous progress.”
Duke’s result against Miami marked the largest final margin in a game between two ACC teams this season. Despite the string of lopsided victories, there’s no reason for letting up.
“I just think our mission is bigger,” Scheyer said. “You have to have great humility in this. It’s delicate. It can change very quickly. I love the killer instinct that our team has had. I love the approach to each game. They haven’t big-timed anything.”
Scheyer, in his third season, is 79-21 across his first 100 games as Duke’s coach after replacing Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.
–Field Level Media
