Duke Survives Thriller, Evans Leads

0:00On March 13, Duke wrapped up the ACC regular season with a dominant 17 wins and won loss, but entered the tournament shorthanded after. Injuries to Caleb Foster and Patrick and Gongba in their revenge went over North Carolina. That put extra pressure on Cameron Booser to step up, as the Blue Devils faced a tough Florida State squad in the opener. Forest Day came in hot, winning their last four games while battling for an NCAA tournament spot. Duke started strong with an early lead, thanks to Isaiah Evans who was on fire, but struggled from the free throw line and beyond the arc in the first half. Fans held their breath as Duke trailed 44-43 at the break, despite dominating the offensive glass, with eight rebounds to Florida. States won. Evans carried the load with the career-high 22 points on 7-11 shooting, including 5-3s. In the second half, Florida stayed pushed ahead by as much as 9, but Duke responded with a 13-2 run to grab the lead and built it to 10.

1:00They fended off a late rally to escape with an 80-79 victory. This thriller keeps Duke's postseason dreams alive, setting up their next matchup with momentum from Evans and resilience without their injured stars.