Last-Minute Preview: Duke vs. Florida State

Losing streaks in D1 basketball are as common as a cloud on a rainy day.  The Seminoles of Florida State are amidst a two-game losing streak of their own and welcome the Duke Blue Devils to town as they hope to put an end to the bleeding.

Duke may be undefeated, but Maryland proved that they are beatable.  Maryland shut down Nolan Smith and the Plumlee connection, but had little answer for Kyle Singler and the bench boys.

Although Maryland lost in the end, many feel that Duke is starting to come back to earth a bit, and that they may be vulnerable.  FSU is salivating at the chance to be the first to defeat Duke this year and add a notch to their NCAA resume. 

A win tonight means FSU has defeated two top 20 teams since Christmas.  Duke won't lose much this year, and a win would be huge on Selection Sunday.

If the Noles are going to do this, then they will need a huge game out of Chris Singleton.  Singleton is averaging close to a double-double, but may need to push toward a triple-double to make this one competitive.

Throughout the game, his size may cause problems for the Duke front court and could force the Devils to be creative with lineups and personnel.

Singleton may be a team leader, but he will need help in this one.  If he is the only double-digit scorer for FSU, then the losing streak will continue and they will simply be another upset team on Duke's schedule.

Duke can with this game in many different ways.  Nolan Smith can attack the defense forcing the double team.  Expect a huge rebound game from Smith as he will be looking to avoid two straight bad games.

Singler played great in the last outing and is primed to have another.  He was in a minor shooting slump less than a month ago but appears to be back to his normal self.  The Final Four Most Outstanding Player is extremely dangerous and will be a tough draw.

Tyler Thorton was extremely impressive for Duke against Maryland.  At times he was the best player on the court as he stepped up and willed Duke to victory.

In terms of a prediction, Duke will win this one, and it won't be very close.  Expect Duke to be up by double digits by the half and cruising to a victory very early.