X factor: Duke basketball vs. Florida State

After arguably its best performance of the season Saturday in its 90-60 romp of then-No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 4 Duke will look to keep the momentum going Monday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla. Before each game this season, the Blue Zone will select a player on both teams that could make the difference for their respective squads:

Duke: forward Justise Winslow

In their past three games, the Blue Devils have played some of their best basketball of the season and Winslow's mentality is a big reason why. The 6-foot-6 swingman has notched the first three double-doubles of his career and averaged 16.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per contest during the stretch after overcoming injury concerns earlier in 2015.

Against a Florida State team that has struggled since leading scorer Aaron Thomas was lost for the season, Duke's top priority is keeping the edge that it played with against the Fighting Irish. If Winslow can continue attacking the paint and pushing the ball in transition with the same ferocity he has been, the Blue Devils should see continued success against a team that ranks 215th in points allowed per game and 172nd in rebounding.

Guards Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Montay Brandon and Devon Bookert anchor Florida State's offense and are the team's double-digit scorers, so Winslow's usual tenacious defense could also help Duke continue its momentum.

Florida State: guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes

As he showed when he scored 35 points in a losing effort at North Carolina Jan. 24, Rathan-Mayes can score with the best of them when he gets in a rhythm. The 6-foot-4 freshman averages 13.7 points and 4.8 assists per contest, leading the team's active players in both categories. The Seminoles rank 232nd in the nation in assists per game at just 11.9 per game and only score 68.5 points per contest, so head coach Leonard Hamilton's squad will likely need a big boost offensively against the high-octane Blue Devils and Rathan-Mayes is the most likely source.

If he can attack Duke's guards—especially starters Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones—and get into the paint, he could keep his team in the game by setting up open looks for Brandon and Bookert and controlling the tempo. In all three of the Blue Devils' losses, an opposing lead guard had a huge game, and another strong effort from Rathan-Mayes against a Tobacco Road power would go a long way for making Florida State's upset dreams a reality.