Duke, Florida State Are Matching Up For Second Time In 2025-2026 Season Because They're Matching Up In Quarterfinals Of Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Thursday Night In Charlotte
Duke, Florida State are matching up for second time in 2025-2026 season because they’re matching up in quarterfinals of Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Thursday night in Charlotte.
Where?
On the hardwood at the Spectrum Center home of NBA’s Charlotte Hornets!
Duke is top ranked team in country the 1 seed in the Alantic Coast Conference Tournament while Florida State is 8 seed!
Duke comes into Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinal with record of 29-2 overall while Florida State comes into the game with record of 18-14!
The winner will face either North Carolina or Clemson in semifinals Friday!
Duke, Florida State matched up once during 2025-2026 regular season when they matched up on Saturday January 3, 2026 in Tallahassee when then 6th ranked when Florida wasn’t ranked when Duke topped Florida State 91-87 scored a career high 28 points then helping 6th ranked Duke Duke top Florida State 91-87 Saturday in Tallahassee.
Where?
On the hardwood!
As Isaiah Evans scored a career high 28 points in Duke’s 91-87 win at Florida State Saturday he was 8-17 on field goals , 6-17 on 3 pointers 6-6 on free throws to go along with 3 rebounds , 1 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks .
According to espn app
With the win Duke improved to 13-1 overall 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference is now leading the way in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
Following Isaiah Evans scoring career high 28 points helping 6th ranked Duke top Florida State 91-87 Saturday in Tallahassee Isaiah Evans who scored a career high 28 points in Duke’s 91-87 win at Florida State shared his thoughts on Florida State by saying “They came to play,We’re one of those teams that teams get up for and obviously they’re at home and they want to protect their home court. I think they’re a good team and both teams came to play today.”
Following Isaiah Evans scoring career high 28 points helping 6th ranked Duke top Florida State 91-87 Saturday in Tallahassee Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer shared his thoughts on Isaiah Evans scoring career high 28 points helping 6th ranked Duke top Florida State 91-87 Saturday in Tallahassee by saying “With him, it’s only a matter of time,”
Though,
Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer also shared his thoughts on his team following 6th ranked Duke’s 91-87 win Saturday at Florida State by saying “I thought our guys made some really great plays,”Winning on the road in the ACC is not an easy thing to do, and I’m just proud of our team for figuring it out.
According to Chip Alexander News & Observer article https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article314030645.html
While Florida State lost 91-87 on Saturday January 3, 2026 in Tallahassee where four players scored in double figures. Those players were Chauncy Wiggings who is a senior a forward who was 8-12 on field goals , 4-6 on 3 pointers , 2-2 on free throws to go along 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 22 points. Martin Somerville who is a sophomore who is a guard 3-6 on field goals , 2-5 on 3 pointers , 2-2 on free throws to go along 1 rebound, 3 assists , 10 points. Robert McGray V who is a senior who is a guard was 7-9 on field goals , 3-3 on 3 pointers , 5-7 on free throws to go along 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 22 points. Kobe Magee who is a senior who is a guard was 6-11 on field goals , 4-7 on 3 pointers, 1-3 on free throws to go along 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 17 points.
Following Florida State’s 91-87 loss to then 6th ranked Duke Head Coach Luke Loucks shared his thoughts by saying I'm going to keep saying I'm not a big moral victory guy, but you can see and you can feel the improvement of this team,"We've got to get over the hump. We've got to put it all together.
"I am happy with our effort, but I am not happy with the result," he added.
According to Chris Nee 247 Sports article https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/article/fsu-mens-basketball-gives-no-6-duke-all-they-can-handle-but-falls-short-in-the-end-26920
Duke is the top seed is playing their first game in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament while Florida State who is 8 seed is playing their second game. Florida State first game was a 95-89 win over California on Wednesday that helped them advance to quarterfinal round of Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. As Florida State advanced to quarterfinal round to match up with Duke four players scored in double figures. Chauncy Wiggins who is a senior who is a forward was 5-9 on field goals , 2-4 on 3 pointers, 2-3 on free throws to go along 3 rebounds, 14 points. Lajae Jones who is a senior who is a guard was 6-9 on field goals , 2-4 on 3 pointers , 1-2 on free throws to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists , 15 points. Robert McCray V who is a senior who is a guard was 10-17 on field goals , 4-7 on 3 pointers , 6-9 on free throws to go along 5 rebounds , 8 assists, 30 points. Kobe Magee who is a senior who is a guard was 4-8 on field goals 3 pointers 1-2 on free throws to go along 2 rebounds. 13 points.
Following Florida State advancing to quarterfinal round of Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Wednesday with 95-89 win over California Florida State Luke Loucks shared his thoughts by saying efore we talk about the game, I want to bring up something. My wife is on this trip. All three of our kids are at home hopefully in bed with her parents. She invited all the other wives of the coaching staff and convinced them to keep their kids at home, too.
Not all of them could do it with the quick turnaround, but four of them showed up. And it happened to be one of their birthdays -- Kristin O'Donnell, our strength coach's wife, it was her birthday two nights ago. And I'm telling you guys this, I'm pretty motivated to continue to win games and I know these guys are next to me.
The wives are more motivated than anyone because every game we win, it extends their vacation with no kids. So I saw them a couple times during the game just cheering their tails off behind our bench.
A double win. I give bonus points for the wives being here and enjoying Charlotte, and obviously now we get to celebrate this win for a few minutes before we move on to Duke.
Chuck Walsh, our SID, told me walking up here that this was the most points we've ever scored in the ACC Tournament. That's pretty impressive to do when the lights are the brightest. Our offense has been up and down all year. To me our season turned around with our defense. I think we've won 12 out of our last 15. I might be off by a game or two, but our defense has been top 10 in the country over that stretch.Earlier we struggled. I think we lost 10 out of 12 at one point, and our defense was atrocious. It looked like it did in the second half of this game, giving up 57 points.
But when we guard and we rebound and we play together, I would take these guys over anyone in the country. And I know that's a bold statement, but we're standing by it.
We've played tournament team after tournament team, and to me, if we're not winning these games, it goes down to the last possession. I told these guys before the game, I would sign up to coach this crew for the rest of my career because at the lowest point, when the team could have and probably should have splintered, these guys, starting with the two next to me, but so many guys in the locker room, came together when human nature would tell you that this isn't working.
You can start blaming each other, having excuses. They had no excuses. They showed up every day. They allowed us to coach them hard, probably harder than some of them have ever been coached in their life, and it turned around our season.
I told them right before the game, if you're going to be selfish about one thing, you should be selfish about winning games because I want to be greedy, I don't want the season to end. I just want to keep winning games, and if we play the way we've been playing, I think that's a really good possibility.
According to Chris Nee 247 Sports article https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/longformarticle/fsu-basketball-luke-loucks-robert-mccray-talk-win-over-cal-277362855/#2803196
Tip- off is set for 7:00pm from Spectrum Center!
The game is going to be televised on ESPN with Dave O Brien, Cory Alexander, Molly McGrath commentating!
Dave O’Brien serves as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN, calling college basketball and other marquee events across ESPN platforms. One of the most versatile and respected voices in sports broadcasting, O’Brien has been a trusted presence on national broadcasts for more than two decades.
O’Brien joined ESPN in 2002 and has called a wide range of events for the network, including college basketball, Major League Baseball, and select NCAA Championships.
In addition to his work with ESPN, O’Brien is also the television voice of the Boston Red Sox on NESN, a role he has held since 2016. Over his distinguished career, he has called MLB postseason games on both television and radio, the World Series, and numerous NCAA Tournament matchups, as well as NBA, NFL, and international soccer broadcasts.
A graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, O’Brien began his professional career in radio before moving into national television.
A native of Quincy, Massachusetts, O’Brien resides in the Boston area with his family.
Cory Alexander joined ESPN in 2009, working as college basketball analyst on ESPN and ACC Network.
Before joining ESPN, Alexander worked as an analyst for the University of Virginia radio network and was an ACC Network commentator for Raycom Sports. He launched the Cory Alexander Basketball School in August 1995 and he still operates it as the owner and president.
His last season in the NBA came with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004-2005, and he previously played for the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets. His first three seasons were spent with the San Antonio Spurs after they drafted him 29th overall in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft.
A 1995 graduate from the University of Virginia with a bachelor of science degree in psychology, Alexander is a native Waynesboro, Va. A four-year letterwinner, he ranks eighth in UVA history with 401 assists and 24th on their all-time scoring list with 1,286 points. Alexander earned second-team All-ACC honors and a gold medal at the FIBA U21 World Championship in 1993. Alexander was a McDonald’s All-American and Parade First Team All-American in 1991 at Oak Hill Academy (Va.).
Molly McGrath joined ESPN in July 2016, and currently serves as the sideline reporter for ESPN/ABC Saturday college football games. She previously hosted various editions of College Football Live and College Basketball Live, and covered select games as a sideline reporter for XFL on ABC. McGrath used to report from the sidelines of ESPN’s Thursday night college football package and regularly served as a sideline reporter on ABC and ESPN for men’s college basketball.
McGrath, who worked as a production assistant at ESPN in 2011, returns after serving as a sideline reporter and host for college sports and the NFL with Fox Sports. Prior to her time at Fox Sports, she worked for the Boston Celtics as a web and in-arena reporter at the TD Garden while also hosting Celtics Now on Comcast SportsNet New England in 2012 and 2013. She also completed internships with NESN and WHDH-TV in Boston.
McGrath graduated from Boston College in 2011, where she received the Athletic Director’s Award for Academic Excellence. She resides in Seattle with her husband and son.
According to https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/dave-obrien/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/cory-alexander/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/molly-mcgrath/