Duke took to the road for the first time in two weeks on Saturday, but the away atmosphere in Tallahassee didn’t phase freshman Jared McCain in the slightest.
The first-year guard finished Saturday’s game against Florida State with 35 points, tied with Zion Williamson for the most in one game by a freshman in program history, during the Blue Devils’ 76-67 victory.
McCain finished the first half with 25 points after shooting 9/10 from the floor and 7/8 from beyond the arc in one of the most efficient and explosive halves in recent Duke memory. He made three 3-pointers within 90 seconds in the middle of the opening frame, lifting the Blue Devils from a three-point deficit to a six-point lead.
He went on another run with six minutes left in the half, scoring eight points in another 90-second span. He buried 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions before driving for a layup.
He capped off his electric half in transition. After a pass from senior Jeremy Roach, the freshman had a clear path to the basket with six seconds before halftime. He had other ideas, however, instead abruptly stopping, backing up beyond the arc, and burying his seventh three of the half.
Jared had a layup but said nah 👌😳🥶🥶🥶🥶 (ESPN) pic.twitter.com/7q1Gn0UyQk
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 17, 2024
McCain couldn’t maintain his flamethrower form in the second half, going 3/10 from the field to add 10 more points over the final 20 minutes, but considering his last basket gave Duke a double-digit lead at the break, he didn’t need to.
Roach may not have made the basket on McCain’s final first-half swish, but the fourth-year guard made a little slice of Duke history himself. He finished the game by making just five of his 12 attempts from the floor, but his 16 points were enough to move him past Tate Armstrong into 41st on Duke’s all-time scoring list.
Roach’s Saturday total moved him to 1,316 points as a Blue Devil.
The Duke offense outside of McCain wasn’t at its best for most of the game on Saturday. The freshman took 11 of Duke’s first 15 3-point attempts, and with eight minutes left in the second half, the Blue Devils’ other four starters were a combined 11/30 from the field. Star forward Kyle Filipowski, freshman Caleb Foster, and sophomore finished the game a combined 8/21 from the floor.
The inefficiency elsewhere in the Duke lineup let Florida State slowly creep back into the game. Sophomore forward Cam Corhen came off the bench and scored 14 points, including a dunk that cut the Duke lead to six with 12 minutes to play.
The Seminoles star, Jamir Watkins, entered the game as one of three ACC players averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, and he tried to live up to the billing in the second half. He assisted two clutch Corhen baskets and added a jumper of his own to keep the Blue Devils lead at six points with 10 minutes left. Watkins finished the game with 15 points, two rebounds, and three assists.
Who else would answer except McCain? The freshman made his way to the free throw line on the ensuing possession and made both his efforts there before burying his eighth three-pointer of the game to make it a double-digit lead once again.
3⃣3⃣3⃣3⃣3⃣3⃣3⃣3⃣ @J_mccain_24 (ESPN) pic.twitter.com/mzjzLuVOey
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 17, 2024
Duke kept the Seminoles at arm’s length for the remainder of the game, with their lead rarely dipping below eight points as they salted the clock away. McCain made a few more baskets to tie Williamson’s record.
The Blue Devils’ road trip continues on Wednesday against Miami.