Florida State awaits Duke in Top 10 matchup

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- No. 9 Florida State and No. 7 Duke both moved up in the AP Top 25 men's basketball poll Monday, setting up a mammoth ACC showdown Tuesday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

And being home for this matchup is just fine with the Seminoles (15-1, 3-0 ACC), who are 11-0 this season on their court and ready for whatever the powerhouse Blue Devils (14-2, 2-1) bring their way.

"It's going to be fun," Florida State forward Jarquez Smith said. "We're looking forward to it. We feel like we have a lot to prove this year."

Florida State, which leaped three spots from No. 12 last week, has proved plenty thus far.

The Seminoles have already knocked off three Top 25 teams -- Florida, Virginia Tech and Virginia -- and beat the latter two in back-to-back games.

Add in a win over Wake Forest to kick off ACC play two weeks ago and Florida State is off to its first 3-0 start in the ACC in school history. The Seminoles are tied for first place with No. 20 Notre Dame.

"No one's going to the NCAA Tournament winning three conference games," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said after Saturday's 93-78 rout for its 11th straight win. "So I realize we still got a lot of work to do."

That work continues when the Blue Devils roll into town for a prime-time, nationally televised Top 10 duel. And Florida State hopes to take advantage of two key pieces missing for Duke when the teams tip off.

First, Duke -- winners of two straight and 12 of their last 13 -- will be without coach Mike Krzyzewski, who underwent back surgery last Friday and is out for an unknown amount of time.

Second, the Blue Devils announced Monday that star forward Amile Jefferson (bruised foot) will not play against the Seminoles. Jefferson, who averages 13.6 points and a team-best 10.1 rebounds, was hurt in the first half during Duke's last game against Boston College. The injury is to the same foot that Jefferson broke last season, causing him to miss the final three months of the year.

Acting Duke coach Jeff Capel said Jefferson will be sorely missed against a Florida State team that boasts two 7-footers: centers Michael Ojo (7-1) and Christ Koumadje (7-4).

"Amile is as important a player that we have," Capel told the Charlotte (N.C.) News & Observer on Monday. "His importance, his value cannot be measured by just numbers, and the numbers themselves are incredibly impressive.

"But the things that he does, coaches really value the things that he does. You see it a little different, the leadership, the talking, the experience. Being the most respected guy on the court and in the locker room."

Duke does, however, have its leading scorer Grayson Allen -- a magnet for controversy lately -- back after Allen was suspended indefinitely three weeks ago. The junior guard, who is averaging 15.6 points per game, was caught tripping an opposing player during Duke's Dec. 21 game against Elon and later forced to sit -- although the suspension only lasted one game.

However, in Allen's second game back from suspension against Boston College on Saturday, he was caught on camera appearing to trip yet another player.

The ACC reviewed the tape Sunday and later released a statement saying, "There is nothing conclusive that can be determined as to whether Allen intentionally made contact with an Eagles player using his leg or foot."

And Florida State knows Allen's antics better than most.

Allen was in hot water twice for the same type of infraction last year -- once against Florida State and in another game against Louisville.

In the Blue Devils' February 2016 win over the Seminoles -- an 80-65 Duke victory that marked the teams' last meeting before Tuesday -- Allen tripped guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes and was whistled for a technical.

After the game, Krzyzewski called Hamilton to apologize for his star player's behavior.

"He acknowledged the fact and apologized to our staff and to let Xavier know, too," Hamilton said at the time. "We accepted it and moved on. I was proud of the way Xavier handled it. We've moved on. We don't want it to become an issue. It's over."

The Seminoles, who are 9-35 against the Blue Devils all time, might have moved on, but they will undoubtedly keep the incident in the back of their minds as they seek their first win over Duke in almost five years.

Florida State last beat the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament in March 2012, and Hamilton knows his team is once again up against a supremely talented squad.

"I think a lot of folks (in the preseason) picked them to win the national title," Hamilton said. "This is a typical Duke basketball team loaded with talent."

Of course, Florida State has plenty of talent of its own this year in leading scorer Dwayne Bacon (18.1 points per game) and five-star freshman forward Jonathan Isaac (12.2 ppg and 7.4 rebounds per game).

Bacon has reached double figures in 25 straight games and Rathan-Mayes has upped his scoring average this season and now averages 10.4 points per game.

But it's Florida State's depth that has emerged as its biggest weapon this year. A dozen Seminoles are seeing double-digit minutes, and their depth is scary.

"They have 12 high-major plus players, and (coach Hamilton) manages their energy level and skill set and matches it accordingly," Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said after Saturday's loss to the Seminoles. "I think they're just really, really good.

"And, look, I know football is big (at Florida State), but I think coach Hamilton is too much an afterthought and doesn't get the credit he deserves nationally. I think this is the best team he's ever had, in my opinion."

Florida State enters with its highest ranking since the 1992-93 season when it reached No. 7, and the Seminoles are 15-1 for just the second time ever. If they beat Duke, their 16-1 record will match the best start in program history (1988-89).

But getting there will be no easy task.

After Tuesday's game against Duke, the Seminoles continue a brutal ACC gauntlet to start the season by traveling to play No. 14 North Carolina, followed by back-to-back home games against two more ranked teams: No. 20 Notre Dame and No. 14 Louisville.

By the time the brutal stretch is over, Florida State will have faced six of the ACC's seven Top 25 teams in their first seven games.

But so far so good.

"I believe our guys are handling this level and atmosphere with maturity," Hamilton said. "We are constantly making sure they understand where we are. We're (still) at the beginning of the season and we've won three conference games. We've been on the other side, trying to climb up, but now for (these wins) to be meaningful, you got to stay there. You gotta keep stack victories."