Jackson’s 22 leads Blue Devils

NO. 17 DUKE 75, NO. 15 FSU 70

DURHAM, N.C. — One of Duke’s shortest players kept finding ways to score on No. 15 Florida State’s long, tall defenders.

Freshman guard Frank Jackson — all 6-foot-3 of him — drove the lane, shot 3-pointers over the Seminoles’ outstretched fingertips and gave the 17th-ranked Blue Devils all the cushion they needed.

Jackson scored a season-best 22 points, and Duke beat Florida State 75-70 on Tuesday night.

“Change of pace, a lot of shot fakes, floaters,” Jackson said. “They really were athletic, just a big team. I think the first time we played them, we kind of didn’t know what to expect. This time around, we were able to study, we progressively got better as the season went along.”

Amile Jefferson, playing in his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Luke Kennard finished with 17 points for the Blue Devils (23-7, 11-6 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Jayson Tatum added 15 points for Duke, which avenged a 16-point loss last month in Tallahassee, held Florida State 14 points below its scoring average and snapped a two-game losing streak that cost the Blue Devils a top-10 ranking but, according to Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, does not qualify as a slump.

“We’re playing our butts off. We’re not slumping,” Krzyzewski said.