Will Duke's frustrations end against FSU?

When the men's basketball team hits the Cameron Indoor Stadium floor tonight at 9 p.m. against Florida State, the Blue Devils won't be playing for the Atlantic Coast Conference title. They won't even be playing for a higher seed in the ACC Tournament. All they will be playing for is their second league win and a positive way to wind down a frustrating season.

"We have to win tomorrow for ourselves, " senior center Erik Meek said Tuesday. "[The games have been] so close every time, we would just like to get a win. We also want to spend these next games trying to get ready for the ACC Tournament."

The downfall for the Blue Devils (11-14 overall, 1-12 ACC) this season has been their inability to keep a lead and win close contests. Duke has lost seven of its last eight conference battles by no more than seven points, and the Blue Devils are locked into the ACC Tournament's infamous eight-nine game.

"It's been really tough," freshman Ricky Price said. "We haven't been blown out once. We've always been there, we've always had a chance to win. But in the second half, we don't come away with the win like we should."

To combat that deficiency, the team has worked hard in practice on end-of-game situations.

"We want to take control early in the game," acting head coach Pete Gaudet said. "However, should the game go down [to the wire], I don't think anyone in the country has had more practice at end-game situations. Unfortunately, it's been on-the-job training and we haven't come out with the wins."

The Blue Devils have also emphasized their defense, which has failed them in clutch situations.

"Defensively, the coaches have stressed we have to pick it up," Price said. "We feel that people are scoring too much and too easy against us, and we can't have that. We have to cut down on all of their points and force more turnovers to create more points for ourselves."

The leader of the Seminoles is senior guard Bob Sura, who is averaging 18.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. In FSU's last appearance at Cameron--which Duke won 106-79--Sura scorched the nets with a career-high 35 points.

"Sura is a real good athlete, and he's just fundamentally sound in so many aspects of the game," Gaudet said.

However, Sura isn't the only player who can put points on the board for the Seminoles. Sophomore forward James Collins, a flamboyant slasher who boasts a solid all-around game, averages just below 18 points per game.

"Collins is a very gifted and special athlete," Gaudet said. "He can sprint the court and play above the rim. He can also set up his drives, and he finishes by being a good three-point shooter, so he has a very complete game."

Like the Blue Devils' starting line-up, which boasts two freshmen in Price and Trajan Langdon, the Seminole regulars also include a pair of first-year players--forward Corey Louis and guard LaMarr Greer. Louis, in particular, has shined for the Seminoles with his play in the paint.

"Louis is very mobile," Gaudet said. "He can show multiple moves on a single play and has a very nice touch with a fall-away jumper. He gets above his man and that makes him very difficult to defend."

With all the hard work the Blue Devils have done in practice, they feel primed to capture a rare conference win.

"I feel pretty good about tomorrow's game," Price said Tuesday. "We know Florida State, we know what they're going to do. There's no reason we can't play well and win in front of a home crowd."