Top Ranked Duke Upset By Florida State 79-74
Courtesy: Duke Sports Information
Release:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After a long delay because Florida State fans prematurely stormed the court with 1.7 seconds remaining Wednesday night, most of the Duke players weren't near the court when the actual final horn sounded and Seminoles beat the top-ranked Blue Devils, 79-74.
A mess that took several minutes to straighten out, the fans eventually got off the court long enough for J.J. Redick to shoot two technical free throws and Al Thornton to shoot two free throws due to the play that stopped the clock at 1.7 seconds, for Florida State inbound the ball and then end the game before the fans stormed the court for the second time.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzweski had his team - except the five in the game - taken to the locker room before Thornton took the final free throws. He said he feared for his players safety.
"I would think that security is not ready for that type of thing," Krzyzewski said. "We weren't going to win the basketball game, the game was basically over, so why put those kids in harm's way?"
He said that saying anything more about it would be misinterpreted.
"It's an unfortunate situation and let the powers to be handle it ... in front of everybody, though, not behind closed doors," he said.
Redick was 10-of-28 from the field and had 30 points for Duke (27-2, 14-1 ACC), while Shelden Williams had 20 points and led all players with 16 rebounds and four blocks. It marked Redick's sixth 30 point game in his last eight contests.
When the fans came onto the floor the first time, Florida State was ahead 77-72. The floor was eventually cleared and Duke was awarded two free throws on a technical foul against Florida State for its players leaving the bench area. The loss ended a 10 game win streak for Duke as the Blue Devils finish the regular season Saturday night at home against North Carolina.
The score was tied five times and there were four lead changes. Duke took its first lead in the second half at 43-42 on a dunk by Williams and built the lead to seven points. Duke went on an 11-5 run at the end of the first half to cut its deficit to 36-33. Redick accounted for eight points in the run with his first two three-pointers of the game and two free throws.
The No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils lost to the unranked  Florida State Seminoles 79-74 at FSU.

The loss drops the Blue Devils to 27-2 (14-1 in the ACC) while FSU improves to 18-8 (8-7 in the ACC).

The Seminoles were led by Al Thornton, who was 15 for 16 at the freethrow line and scored 26 points in 36 minutes of play.  Alexander Johnson brought in 22 points for FSU, shooting 10 of 13 at the line and bringing in 13 rebounds.

Senior J.J. Redick led the Blue Devils with 30 points, including 4 three point shots, and fellow senior Shelden Williams had 20 points and 16 rebounds.  

Florida State fans swarmed the court with 1.7 seconds left to play, when the team was ahead 77-72.  Duke coach Mike Krzyzweski sent all but the 5 Blue Devil players on the court to the locker room.  The Seminoles were assessed a team technical foul, and Redick shot two free throws before play commenced.  

This marks Duke's first ACC loss of the season.  In an earlier matchup, Duke narrowly escaped FSU at Cameron Indoor Stadium 97-96 in overtime.