Duke Vs. FSU: How The Devils Can Dominate The Noles

The Duke Blue Devils have one less foe to worry about for the ACC title this season.  The Tarheels are ACC cellar dwellars and an ACC Championship run is the first goal of many at the mid-point of this season.

In their next game they will take on the underrated Florida State Seminoles.  FSU has been a quiet thorn in the sides of Duke Nation over the past few seasons.  They seem to always be ready to push Duke to the limit, and have been very successful in the past.  They are not afraid of the name on the jersey, and will be ready to play.

This time around the Noles have several stars that the Devils need to stop.  The most important being Solomon Alabi.  The reason Alabi will be a key in this game is due to his size and presence.  The 7 footer is a beast.  He can change the shot of any player in the paint.  He is the key to the Seminoles defense.  As he goes so do they.

If the Devils want to continue dominating the boards, they need to get Alabi into foul trouble.  They should push the ball to the Plumlees, Zoubek, and Lance T. early and often.  The Devils should make the Plumlees have a competition to see who can dunk the ball in the face of Alabi the most.  If they are doing this then he is going to get aggravated and pick up a few cheap fouls.  Height does nothing when it is on the bench.  This would open the middle and make FSU adjust.  This would spell trouble for the Noles.

The other thing Duke needs to do is to contain FSU standout Chris Singleton.  Singleton seems to be the rock for the Noles.  He leads the team in minutes, assists (per game), and rebounds (per game).  One way to combat his skill set is for the Devils to make him work on defense.  If he is constantly working to keep his man off of the blocks or from shooting the wide open J, then he will struggle on the offensive side of the ball.  The Devils pride themselves on being in shape, making Singleton hustle will exhaust him and work in the Devils' favor.

The combination of getting Aabi into fould trouble and out working Singleton would help them not only defeat this team, but destroy them. 

On the offensive side of the ball, the Devils will need not only their big three, but someone else to step up.  They don't need a 20 point game from a fourth contributer, but someone that can provide a solid 12 points 6 boards wouldn't hurt either.

Early in the season Andre Dawkins showed that he can bury the three, and will not hesitate to shoot.  If he does not step up his game as conference play continoues then he will not see the court very much.

One person that needs to step up more than Dawkins is Mason Plumlee.  He is young, athletic, and aggresive, but he will need to grow more and more in each game!  This is one where he could make a huge impact.

All in all, this is going to be a great game.  FSU is never afraid to step into Cameron and try to deliver the knockout blow, however this time, they are in over their head.  Expect the Devils to continue their conference run at Cameron!