By David Droschak
The Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke's defense remains ahead of its offense, which could spell trouble for the 10th-ranked Blue Devils in the NCAA tournament.

Duke beat Florida State 72-56 to run its record to 21-5 Thursday night, but shot 39 percent and had 21 turnovers.

"We've got 10 days to get everything rolling," captain Chris Duhon said. "Right now we're worried about building this team. We need to find that thing that's missing. It's realistic for us to get hot and run off a streak of six wins."

However, the Blue Devils are concerned about a lack of focus in parts of games after blowing a late double-digit lead over the weekend in a one-point loss to St. John's.

"It's not about Xs and Os," Duhon said. "There's something we have to get in order for us to do something special - and we're not there yet. Coach let us know after the game we're running out of time and we're not going to have any more chances."

In addition to a stern postgame talk, coach Mike Krzyzewski made his point midway through the second half when Dahntay Jones turned it over when he threw a behind-the-back pass away on a fast break.

Jones, playing his last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, was taken out and lectured on the bench by Krzyzewski.

"We're 24 points ahead and we've got a 4-on-1 and that was a horrible play," the coach said. "It's a play that leads you to think that you've already won. It was really one of the more horrible plays of the year."

Krzyzewski was also critical of the Cameron Crazies, who he said are spoiled by the program's success.

"It's not fresh and exciting any more," Krzyzewski said. "We've won so much, all that build up, the journey is not there. It's kind of sad. I'm as hungry as I've ever been in my life - and the players are too."

Shelden Williams had 12 points and season-high 17 rebounds and Duke forced 24 turnovers in the 16-point win.

"That's a concern for the other team that they have to stop," Duhon said of Williams' inside play. "It just takes our offense to a higher level."

Jones added 14 points for Duke, while Mike Mathews had a career-high 18 - all in the second half - for the Seminoles.

The Blue Devils, one of five teams in the top 10 all season, moved one game behind ACC-leading Wake Forest with a game left this weekend at North Carolina. The ninth-ranked Demon Deacons play N.C. State on Saturday and can nail down its first outright regular-season title since 1962 with a victory in Raleigh.

Maryland is tied with Duke at 11-4 in the ACC with a game left at Virginia on Sunday.

The Seminoles (13-14, 4-12) finished in sole possession of last place in the regular-season standings for the first time since joining the league in 1992. That lands Florida State in its third straight play-in game in the ACC tournament next week in Greensboro.

Tim Pickett was coming off a career-high 32-point game against Virginia, but got off to a slow start before finishing with 11 points for the Seminoles.

Duke didn't take long to gain control of its 28th straight home win, leading by as many as 23 in the opening half as the Seminoles had trouble establishing any offensive flow against Duke's pressure defense.

It was in sharp contrast to when Florida State shot 60 percent during a 75-70 defeat of the Blue Devils on Feb. 2.

Florida State, last in the ACC in scoring at 68.7 points a game, had its worst first half of the season, failing to score on 24 of its first 27 possessions as the Blue Devils went up 28-7 less than 14 minutes in.

"We allowed their defensive pressure to create an unsettling atmosphere on our team," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Their pressure caused us to make poor decisions."