The Seminoles played a tight game against Virginia Tech Tuesday. They were tied with the Hokies at halftime, and it appeared the pair was headed to another close finish. However, Virginia Tech dominated FSU on the boards to put the game away.
The Hokies outrebounded the Seminoles, 35-23 – 13-6 on the offensive end. Lynn Kidd, who had just two points and eight rebounds in Virginia Tech’s first meeting against FSU, had 12 points and a team-high 15 rebounds.
Duke is averaging 36 rebounds a game. Similar to Kidd, Duke center Kyle Filipowski is averaging a near double-double with 8.3 rebounds and 17.4 points per game. Mark Mitchell is averaging 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds and Jared McCain is averaging 12.9 points and five rebounds.
Duke can execute on both ends of the court. FSU has proven throughout the season that it can keep up offensively, but its defense needs to take a big step and contest rebounds.
It can’t give away games like it did against the Hokies.