bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- No. 7 Duke will put its perfect ACC record on the line when it hosts No. 13 Florida State tonight (8:30 p.m., Fox Sports) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils are first in the ACC with a 5-0 record -- 17-3 overall -- while the Seminoles, 18-3 overall, are tied for second in the conference with North Carolina with a 4-1 league record.
Duke is coming off a 58-57 victory at Maryland on Sunday and will face another tough test tonight in the Seminoles. Both teams are physical inside as the Blue Devils rank sixth in the nation with a 10.9 rebounding margin, while FSU ranks 10th with a 9.2 rebounding margin.
Duke has won 10 straight ACC home games, which dates back to the 2007-08 season, and has won 13 of the last 15 against FSU.
Jasmine Thomas leads Duke with 15.8 points per game and Joy Cheek is the second-leading scorer with 10.4 points.
The key for Blue Devils will be avoiding the slow starts that have plagued them the past two games. Duke has scored just 22 and 27 points in the first half of wins over Virginia Tech and Maryland.
But Duke has been able to overcome the slow starts mainly because of its defense -- the Blue Devils have the top scoring defense in the ACC, holding opponents to 54.9 points per game. The Seminoles, on the other hand, are averaging 75.9 points per game and are shooting a league-best 45.5 percent from the floor.
Florida State is coming off an 85-64 victory over Boston College on Saturday and are led by Jacinta Monroe (12.9 points, 7 rebounds), Alysha Harvin (11.0 points, 4 rebounds) and Courtney Ward (10 points).
