Jared McCain was the problem for Florida State men's basketball (13-12, 7-7).

And the solution for Duke.

The freshman guard scored a career-high 35 points, scoring nearly half of No. 9 Duke's (20-5, 11-3) total, handing FSU a third straight loss, 76-67, Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center before a crowd of 11,500.

McCain entered averaging 12.9 points per game.

He set a Duke freshman record with eight 3-pointers and matched a school freshman mark with 35 points. His point total tied Zion Williamson's 35-point performance against Syracuse in 2019.

"The ACC seems as though every team will have a player or several players that are capable of going off for big numbers," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said.

"I felt our defensive game plan for the most part was fine...But I think all of us who played basketball, seem to have one of those nights where you can't miss regardless of how you defended."

McCain shot 72% from 3-point range, sinking 8-of-11 attempts. Jeremy Roach added 17 points for the Blue Devils, who won for the eighth time in nine games in Tallahassee..

McCain blew past his prior career high of 24 points, which came in a 106-69 win over Queens University of Charlotte on Dec. 30, 2023.

"Every team has a guy that's capable of going out and shooting a high percentage from three like McCain," Hamilton said.

"That's what good teams and ACC will do for you. That's why you have to have a mindset on the defensive end, that you defend everybody with the highest level of focus."

Seminoles limited by offensive woes

FSU struggled again on the boards.

The Blue Devils outrebounded the Seminoles, 36-27, 15-9 on the offensive end. FSU also struggled to defend Duke's fastbreak offense, allowing 18 points.

Jamir Watkins led FSU with 15 points. Cameron Corhen added 14 off the bench and was the only other FSU player in double-digits.

FSU shot 49% from the field, draining 28 of 57 shots. It shot below its season average from 3-point range at 28% (4 of 14).

The Seminoles' defense from inside the paint was effective as they recorded nine blocks, four coming from Watkins.

"With them, they switch everything so it's not like you can call plays all the time," Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. "We got stuck a little bit with stagnant play too much one-on-one. But to their credit, that's what they [FSU] make you do."

However, fouls became an issue late in the game. Baba Miller fouled out and Darin Green Jr. had four, including a technical.

"I think he [Green] got really emotional. That was looked like to me," Hamilton said on Green's technical foul. "We had momentum at the time, but you look to that and you say that was the straw that broke the camel's back but in reality, if we were better defensively in the first half, maybe we would not have been in that situation."

The Seminoles suffered 14 turnovers.

FSU drops to 13-12 overall and 7-7 in ACC play. The Seminoles opened conference play at a 5-1 record, but have lost six of their last eight.

They're back in action Tuesday at home against Boston College at 7 p.m. The Eagles defeated Miami, 85-77, on Saturday at home.

"The bottom line is they had better offense and then we had on defense, and they had one player who had an exceptional night," Hamilton said. "We had two of our best players in foul trouble, but you have to overcome that. You have to find a full complement of players that overcome that.

"It shouldn't really matter if someone is in foul trouble."

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: McCain's 35 points burns FSU men's basketball in loss to Duke