Cam Reddish provided the most dramatic moment of Duke's season so far with an oh-my-god-so-wide-open 3-pointer just before time expired to give top-ranked Duke an 80-78 victory at No. 13 Florida State on Saturday.
Reddish, who has been bogged down by uneven play much of the past month, might have course-corrected his college career with arguably the biggest 3-pointer of his life to this point.
A blown defensive assignment left -- the Seminoles were no doubt keyed in on star wing RJ Barrett, in addition to Marques Bolden moving toward the rim -- left Reddish as open as you'll see any player for a winning shot attempt this season.
Beautiful set drawn up here by Duke ... and a nightmare lapse by the Noles.
CAM REDDISH! GAME-WINNER! pic.twitter.com/zNums3rKdK
— ESPN (@espn) January 12, 2019
Reddish finished with 23 points. His roaring winner becomes the headline and steals away what might have been some short-term concern for the No. 1 team in the country.
The sequence leading up to it was unpredictable as well. Florida State took a 78-76 lead after Reddish committed a turnover, then fouled FSU's P.J. Savoy on a 3-point attempt with 15.8 seconds left. Savoy hit two of his three free throws. Barrett proceeded to make one of two fouls shots, missing the second, and as FSU tried to get the offensive rebound, the ball instead was ricocheted off the Seminoles.
It was only because of that that Duke had its chance to find Reddish for the winner.
As you'll see above, Duke star freshman Zion Williamson was not on the floor for the game's final play. He didn't play at all in the second half, in fact. Williamson was sidelined due to an eye injury he suffered with 1:26 remaining in the first half.
FSU CAN’T guard Zion Williamson 😅 they had to resort to POKIN his eye 😳 pic.twitter.com/9sGDwstObf
— BLACK SPORTSCENTER (@VersaceBoyEnt) January 12, 2019
Williamson left the game with 11 points and eight rebounds. FSU went on a 19-10 run from the end of the first half and into the second without Williamson on the floor, but that will be lost amid the dramatic finish.
Mike Krzyzewski said postgame that Williamson was having double-division issues in his left eye, which prohibited him from playing. But he is expected to be fine in time for Duke's home game Monday against Syracuse. Ironically, it's the second straight season a standout Duke freshman has left a game due to an eye injury; Marvin Bagley III suffered the same fate at the start of his 2017-18 season.