Florida State 81 - 84 9Duke
Final
  for this game

Back in form, Dukes hosts Florida State

Mar 3, 2009 - 2:42 PM No. 24 Florida State (22-7) at No. 7 Duke (24-5), 8:00 p.m. EST

DURHAM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Duke has recovered from a midseason slump to bring itself back into contention for an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

The seventh-ranked Blue Devils aim to win their home finale and keep alive their hope of an ACC regular-season crown when they host No. 24 Florida State on Tuesday.

Following a 2-5 stretch that sank them into the middle of the pack in the league standings, the Blue Devils (24-5, 10-4 ACC) have reeled off four straight wins to pull one game behind arch-rival North Carolina, which owns an 11-3 record in conference play.

The last two wins for Duke have come on the road against Maryland and Virginia Tech, two teams desperate for marquee wins to add to their respective NCAA Tournament resumes.

Duke's late run has been fueled by swingman Gerald Henderson, who has continued his standout play of late. After scoring a career-high 35 in a win over Wake Forest, the junior has averaged 20.0 points per game in the wins over the Terrapins and Hokies.

Henderson is averaging a team-high 16.6 points while Kyle Singler adds 16.2 per contest for the Blue Devils, who close out the regular season at North Carolina on Sunday.

Florida State (22-7, 9-5) is coming off Saturday's crucial 73-66 victory over Clemson. Toney Douglas scored 23 points and the Seminoles forced 23 turnovers.

Douglas is the ACC's second-leading scorer at 20.6 points per game and has connected on 56 percent (13-of-23) from 3-point range in his last three contests.

In this season's earlier matchup between Duke and Florida State, the teams played to a 19-14 score after the first half before exploding in the second half. Duke expanded on its five-point halftime lead and won, 66-58.






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