TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - With 11:49 left in the second half of last night's game, the crowd at the Leon County Civic Center reached a high-pitched roar... as Chief Osceola tossed tee shirts into the crowd.
Top-ranked Duke (26-1, 14-0 in the ACC), using 14-4 runs to open both halves, had no trouble clinching its third straight ACC regular-season title, dismantling Florida State (12-13, 5-8), 85-59.
"Our guys were really ready to play and were focused," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They had to be because Florida State played really hard and with a lot of energy.... We won the conference tonight and that is a great, great accomplishment."
Elton Brand used his size and strength inside to dominate the Seminoles, scoring a game high 23 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. The sophomore scored six of Duke's first nine in the second half, as Duke expanded its lead to 59-33 with 16:11 left.
"We expect to win every game," Chris Carrawell said. "We have a different motivation every game, which is why we never have let-downs. Tonight we wanted to win the ACC championship."
Shane Battier continued his hot shooting in the first half, nailing 5-of-6 from the field for 13 points.
Duke, who defeated the 'Noles for the ninth consecutive time, scored
"One of their trademarks is coming out strong from the start and they did that," FSU coach Steve Robinson said. "They got so many offensive rebounds and that makes them extremely tough to stop."
Duke built a 50-31 halftime lead, mostly due to a 27-12 edge on the boards. The Blue Devils misfired on 19 shots from the field in the first half but had 16 offensive rebounds to show for it.
The second half was highlighted by a defensive clinic instructed by Duke. FSU only managed 13 points through the opening 15:52 of the second stanza, shooting a dismal 33 percent for the half.
"Both teams played hard, but once we blocked out and didn't give them second shots, it was tough for them to score," Krzyzewski said. "I thought we really played well tonight."
FSU could never get a spurt generated, as its biggest run was 6-0. But after this run, the Duke lead remained at 16, 43-27, with 3:31 left in the first half.
The Seminoles never threatened in the second half, with Duke extending its lead 34 with 4:50 left on a free throw by Corey Maggette.
The Seminoles' top two scorers, Ron Hale and Terrell Baker, were held to a combined 14 points, 17 below the tandem's average, and a cold 3-of-14 from the field.
"We rotated guys on those two players, although Carrawell was on Hale most of the time," Krzyzewski said. "We knew that if we could hold them down we would have a good shot at winning the basketball game."
Carrawell has owned Hale this season, holding the Seminoles' top scorer to only six points in the teams' first meeting.
"I just try to take away Hale's jump shot," Carrawell said. "I try to make him put it on the floor, because if he gets going, he is dangerous."
FSU, which fell for the sixth straight time in conference play, registered 11 more fouls than Duke and only shot eight free throws, compared to the Blue Devils' 36 attempts at the line.
Will Avery, who had been sick during the week, only managed seven points, but he made his presence felt in other ways. The point guard dished out five assists and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.
The win gave the Blue Devils their 21st straight game overall and sixth conference title in the '90s.
"This is an emotional night for our team," Krzyzewski said. "We're really excited about winning tonight. We were prepared to play tonight."
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