No. 7 Duke (13-1) is on major upset alert on Wednesday night as it travels to Tallahassee, Fla., to face Florida State (12-5), a team that has beaten the Blue Devils two times in a row.
Duke, however, is a 5.5-point betting favorite tonight on WagerWeb.com.
"There will be no intimidation factor there," FSU's Jason Rich said. "I think we've been successful against them because of the way we've stuck to our game plan. You've got to be on-point against them because they make you pay for mistakes. I thought we've done a good job against them."
Rich is one of five Seminole players who were part of last season's 68-67 win at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium - a first for FSU since joining the ACC. Rich also scored 20 points in the Seminoles' 79-76 victory in 2006, which is the last time that Duke visited Tallahassee, a place at which the Blue Devils have lost three of their past five games.
"Duke is a program built on tradition," Rich said. "They're one of the most hated programs in the country, and I say that with respect because they've accomplished so much. It creates a different feel in the building and fans know it."
"In my career, I'm 0-1 against [the Seminoles], so obviously I really want to beat them," Duke sophomore Jon Scheyer said. "That was a tough loss against FSU last year. It was very hard and I remember it, so when we go down there, I think having that in the back of our minds will be a good thing, and we'll be ready to play them."Duke is coming off a dominating 87-65 win Sunday over Virginia in which the Cavaliers never led and the starters got plenty of rest. Florida State, meanwhile, played a grueling double overtime loss at Clemson on Saturday, one in which five Seminoles played more than 40 minutes - the team's top four scorers all played at least 47 minutes, including junior guard Toney Douglas, who played 49.
Interestingly, this marks only the Blue Devils' second true road game of the season; FSU, meanwhile, is 8-1 at home this season and 25-3 this past two seasons.
In addition, FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton will be going for his 300th career win in this game and 100th at Florida State.
Leading the way for FSU is Uche Echefu, a 6-9 junior forward who had 24 points and 12 rebounds at Clemson and is averaging 15.7 points and 9.8 rebounds in the past six games. Rich, a senior guard, has scored at least 10 points in seven consecutive games and is averaging 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in that stretch. Douglas leads the team in scoring at 13.9 ppg.
Meanwhile, Duke senior DeMarcus Nelson has been leading the team in scoring over the past five games, averaging 18.6 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He is averaging 14.1 ppg on the season, followed by sophomore guard Gerald Henderson and freshman forward Kyle Singler at 13.0 ppg each. And point guard Greg Paulus has not committed a turnover in four of the past six games.
FSU is 4-6 against Duke in the past 10 tries, and the only ACC teams with a better record against Duke in their past 10 games are North Carolina and Maryland, both 5-5.
However, the Seminoles have lost their last two games against ranked opponents (Clemson on Saturday and No. 19 Butler on Dec. 15.).
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