Top-Seeded Duke Wins Thriller, 80-79, over Florida State in ACC Quarterfinal

Thursday, March 12

Charlotte, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

30-2,17-1ACC

Florida State

18-15,10-8ACC

Florida St.

Duke

Top-Seeded Duke Wins Thriller, 80-79, over Florida State in ACC Quarterfinal

3/12/2026 9:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Duke Quotes (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 1-seed Duke rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half, defeating No. 8-seed Florida State, 80-79, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12. The Blue Devils (30-2) trailed, 59-51, with 13 minutes remaining, but ripped off a 19-2 extended scoring run to flip momentum. The Seminoles (18-15) pulled within one on the final possession, but their shot at the buzzer fell off the rim.

Isaiah Evans scored a career-high 32 points to lead all scorers, taking advantage of a career-high seven three-pointers. Cameron Boozer was Duke's second double-digit scorer with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double, his 18th of the season and 11th of the 20-point variety.

Maliq Brown reeled in eight offensive boards en route to 12 total caroms, matching his career high on the glass, while Duke secured a season-high 22 offensive rebounds to help the Blue Devils outscore Florida State, 24-7, in second-chance points. Boozer led the team with four assists, while four other Blue Devils finished the contest with three assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a defensive stop on the first possession of the game, Duke opened the scoring with a floater from Cayden Boozer. The Seminoles got on the board with a three-pointer, but Isaiah Evans responded with a triple of his own, giving Duke an early 7-3 lead.
The Blue Devils remained in front, 11-7, at the first media timeout, with Evans scoring seven of Duke's early points. Ten straight points by Florida State, spanning the under-16 timeout, gave the Seminoles their first lead, 15-11. Nikolas Khamenia stopped the scoring with a layup through contact.
A three-pointer from Evans pushed the sophomore into double-figures with 11 points, and put Duke back in the lead, 18-17. Khamenia knocked down a trifecta and Cameron Boozer laid in his second bucket of the night to expand the lead to four, 23-19.
Seven straight points for Evans, including two more three-pointers, kept Duke in front, 34-32. The sophomore eclipsed 20 points with his fifth triple of the first half, at the 2:40 mark. A pair of free throws from Boozer on Duke's last possession of the half gave the freshman 11 points, but the Seminoles led by one, 44-43, after 20 minutes.
Florida State scored 10 of the first 16 points of the second half, grabbing a 54-49 lead at the under-16 timeout. The Seminoles went up by eight, 59-51, following a fast-break three-pointer, leading to a Duke timeout with 13:01 remaining.
Boozer snapped a scoreless drought of just over two minutes out of the timeout, giving the freshman 15 points for the game. A three-pointer by Boozer and a layup from Evans cut the deficit to just one, 59-58, and forced a Florida State timeout at the 11:10 mark.
A steal and layup by Maliq Brown put Duke back in front, 62-61, at the halfway point of the second half. Evans' sixth triple of the game gave him 29 points, setting a new career high.
A layup, while getting fouled, by Cayden Boozer extended Duke's scoring run to 11 unanswered and sent the Blue Devils into the under-eight timeout with the lead, 69-61. The run reached 12 straight, after Boozer converted the three-point play.
Florida State scored six of the next eight points, drawing within five, 72-67, before Cameron Boozer drilled his second triple of the night. The teams traded makes from deep, as the Seminoles pulled within three, 78-75, with 90 seconds remaining.
An offensive board and layup from Cayden Boozer kept Duke in front by three, as the clock ticked under a minute.
Florida State had possession for the final shot, but a three-point try at the buzzer fell off the rim, giving Duke the 80-79 victory.

NOTES

Duke has won 40 of its last 42 games against conference opponents.
- Across the last two seasons, Duke owns the best record in Division I college basketball, at 65-6 (.915).
- Since Thanksgiving 2024, the Blue Devils have achieved a record of 61-4 (.938).
Duke improves its overall record to 30-2, marking the program's 18th season with 30 or more victories.
- Following last year's 35-4 finish, the Blue Devils have now registered consecutive 30-win seasons six times, with the last capping a three-year run in 2010-11.
When playing Florida State, Duke is 47-11 in the all-time series.
- The Blue Devils have won 11 of the last 12 and 14 of the last 16 in the series.
The Blue Devils are 15-5 all-time when playing on March 12.
- Duke has won nine of its last 10 games on this date.
The Blue Devils are 25-8 in ACC Tournament games in Charlotte.
- Duke is the ACC Tournament's winningest team all-time with 114 victories.
Duke is a combined 108-36 (.750) all-time in 13 current NBA venues.
- The Blue Devils have won 38 of their last 48 at NBA venues, including a 5-1 record this season and 4-1 mark last season.
- Duke has a 17-7 (.708) record in NBA facilities under head coach Jon Scheyer, including a 14-4 (.778) ledger in the past three seasons.
- The Blue Devils improve to 15-1 all-time at Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets.
Thursday's game was Duke's 297th played when ranked No. 1 in the country, ahead of UCLA's 257 for the best total all-time (since 1949).
- Duke is 255-42 when ranked No. 1 in the country.
- Since 1998, the Blue Devils have played 195 games as the top-ranked team, more than twice as many as the next best tally (84 by North Carolina), with a record of 165-30 in those contests.
The Blue Devils trailed at halftime, 44-43, just their fifth time this season entering the break at a deficit.
- Duke is 5-0 this season in those games.
Duke made 10 three-pointers, its sixth straight game against an ACC foe with double-digit makes from beyond the arc.
The Seminoles entered Thursday's game averaging 80.4 points per game, but were held to 79, 1.4 points below their season average.
- Duke's defense has held all but two of their 32 opponents below their scoring average this season.
Entering Thursday's quarterfinal, Duke topped the conference and ranked sixth nationally for rebounding margin (+10.5).
- The Blue Devils outrebounded the Seminoles by 21 (46-25) and have finished with a positive margin on the glass in 28 games this season.
- Duke has finished with a rebounding margin of at least +20 in eight games this season.
- The Blue Devils grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, the most in a game this season and the second most under Scheyer, trailing only 24 offensive boards on Jan. 11, 2023, against Pittsburgh.
Isaiah Evans posted a career-high 32 points, leading all scorers. The sophomore connected on seven triples, also a career high.
- When Evans makes at least three 3-pointers, Duke is 17-0 this season and 28-0 in Evans' career.
Cameron Boozer also scored in double-figures, with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double.
- The freshman has 18 double-doubles this season, with 11 of them coming with at least 20 points.
Maliq Brown grabbed eight offensive rebounds en route to matching his career high on the glass with 12 total boards.
- The senior also posted three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
Cayden Boozer earned his first career postseason start, joining the starting lineup alongside his twin brother Cameron.
- The twins are the first brothers to start a Duke postseason game since Miles and Mason Plumlee in the 2012 postseason.
- Cayden Boozer contributed nine points, including Duke's final field goal, a put-back layup with a minute remaining to give the Blue Devils a three-point advantage.
Nikolas Khamenia chipped in nine points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal off the bench.

QUOTES

"First of all, congrats to Florida State with the year they've had, and especially the last second half of the year. I think the job Luke has done has been incredible... we knew we were in for a big-time game. To go 0-5 and then win 10 of their 12 games, they found something, and I think that's a credit to their coaching staff, to kind of reinvent their team. They've done an incredible job and they've talented and they have one of the most dynamic players in [Robert] McCray... It was a different game for us. We had different lineups. We were in some positions we haven't been in all year, down eight second half. I think the character that our guys showed in that moment was big time. And then that led to some great defense, and finally we got some stops and get out in transition. Both these guys (Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans) made big-time plays. All seven guys that played really helped. Proud of this win. We have to recover quickly... it's a quick turnaround, and we're going to work on keeping this thing going." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer

UP NEXT

No. 1 Duke (30-2) advances to the ACC Tournament semifinal, facing the winner of No. 4-seed North Carolina and No. 5-seed Clemson.
Tipoff at the Spectrum Center is scheduled for 9:30 p.m., and the game will broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".

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