Rathan-Mayes, No. 10 Seminoles drop No. 7 Duke
In the first top-10 matchup in nearly 24 years at the Tucker Civic Center, Florida State didn’t flinch.
The No. 10 (No. 9 in the AP Poll) Seminoles, led by junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes took every punch No. 7 Duke could throw and consistently battled back with haymakers. Tuesday, In front of a crowd of 11,675 that could probably be heard from the Wescott Building, the Seminoles brought down the Blue Devils 88-72.
Rathan-Mayes was on fire in the second half. He scored 18 points to help the Seminoles (16-1, 4-0 ACC) outscore the Blue Devils (14-3, 2-2 ACC) 47-35 over the final 20 minutes of the game. He finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-13 from the field.
“If I just lock in defensively, to the details, to the scouting report, my offense is going to come,” Rathan-Mayes said.
Clark: Seminoles are sensational in blowout win of No. 7 Duke
The Seminoles went on a 10-0 run with 12 minutes left in the game to retake the lead after Duke went up 50-48 in the second half. That lead was the last time the Blue Devils would hold an advantage over the Seminoles during Tuesday’s game.
FSU poured it on after that.
Duke coach Jeff Capel, who’s running the team in the absence of legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski, was complimentary of FSU’s depth. The Seminoles bench outscored the Blue Devils’ bench 21-4.
The Blue Devils, playing without injured senior forward Amile Jefferson, were outscored 56-28 in the paint.
Florida State wasn't backing down from the Duke name
“(FSU) Coach (Leonard) Hamilton, the staff, their players, the athletic director – they deserve this,” Capel said.
“They’re a very good team. I hope their students, their fans, the people here understand what they’re watching. They seem like a really group of kids, Coach Ham’s a great guy; it was a great crowd tonight.”
The Seminoles went into halftime clinging to a 41-37 lead. FSU survived 9-0 run from Duke, during which the team went nearly three minutes without a made shot, then retook the lead on 10-0 run fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from transfer guard PJ Savoy Jr.
The atmosphere certainly lived up to the hype surrounding the game. Fans made their presence felt throughout the game, particularly when it came to Duke’s starting point guard Grayson Allen.
Whether it was the multitude of signs ridiculing Allen for past tripping incidents – including one against Rathan-Mayes – or the crowd booing him every time he touched the ball, fans did their best to make the junior uncomfortable.
Allen finished the game with 9 points on 2 for 6 from the field. With about five minutes lift in the game he "took a shot to the head," according to Capel, and left the game. The Blue Devils were led by Luke Kennard, who had 23 points.
Turning point
The Seminoles went on a 10-0 run with 12 minutes left in the game to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Blue Devils were up 50-48 before the run, and it looked the No. 7 team in the nation was poised to turn up the heat in the Civic Center.
Duke’s Matt Jones hit a 3-pointer to stop the surge, but the damage was done.
Four out of the five shots during the run were layups or dunks.
Star of the game
Rathan-Mayes turned it on in the second half and led the Seminoles to victory.
He was hesitant in the first half – he only scored 3 points – but he was willing to drive to the bucket and open up lanes for teammates in the second half.
He finished the game with one turnover and a team-high 21 points.
“We had been trying to get that type of aggressiveness the entire game,” Hamilton said about Rathan-Mayes’ performance. “I thought X came back in, he was fresh. I thought he did a very good job of executing what we try to do all the time.”
A case could be made for Terance Mann (13 points on 6-of-7 from the field and 5 offensive boards). He was constantly in the right place at the right time for the Seminoles.
Don’t get “drunk on success”
Hamilton said he wants his team to enjoy the win over a top-10 opponent, but the group must stay grounded. Tuesday’s game was the third in a brutal stretch of six-straight ranked opponents. Next, the Seminoles play UNC, Notre Dame and Louisville – all top 20 teams.
“What we try to do is just stay grounded,” Hamilton said. “Regardless of who you play in a conference game, it’s going to be a team that could very easily be successful.
“We try not to get philosophical about where we are. We’re 4-0 in the ACC and we don’t want to get what we call ‘drunk on success.’ We just want to stay focused, not allow ourselves to get caught up in anything other than trying to be as prepared as we can for each game."
Rathan Mayes said it’s up to the upperclassmen on the team to keep the group grounded.
“It’s a game at a time,” he said. “The ACC is the best conference in America and we’ve got to treat it as such.”