Inside the box score: Fi introduces himself to NBA scouts

Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports 1. It’s an easy argument to make that Duke played better without Zion Williamson, who missed the 2nd half. Is Duke better without him? That would be absurd. But for 20 minutes it worked. Not many teams have the size to disrupt his game, but Florida State does, and this limited his effectiveness to offensive rebounds and one 3-pointer (FSU would have let him shoot a hundred). When Zion is in the game, he commands so much space on offense because every set is a clear out, and very few players can guard him as he goes downhill. The result is that the other four Duke players have to operate in confined space. Without him in the game (eye injury) in the 2nd half, Duke was able to spread the floor and find better shots for the No. 1 and No. 2 recruits in the nation. As a result they were able to score 1.31 points per possession in the 2nd half, compared to just 0.97 in the first.

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