#4 Duke Blue Devils (23-2, 12-1 ACC) vs Syracuse Orange (15-11, 6-7 ACC)
Monday, Feb. 16 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) • Durham, NC
TV: ESPN
The Blue Devils welcome in the Syracuse Orange in a quick turnaround in Cameron Indoor Stadium Monday night on ESPN.
Syracuse Orange
The Syracuse Orange enter the week on a 2-game winning streak, having beaten Cal and SMU at home last week. The Orange currently sit at 15-11 overall and 6-7 in the ACC. The Orange are second in the nation with an ACC-high 6.3 blocked shots per game, led by William Kyle III with 69 rejections (2.7 bpg), which ranks third in the country. Syracuse averages 12.4 fast-break points per game, which ranks second in the conference.
Syracuse boasts a quartet of double-figure scorers led by sophomore Donnie Freeman at 17.6 points per game; Freeman also averages 7.2 rebounds per game as well. Senior guard JJ Starling is averaging 12.1 points per game and 2.3 assists. Naithan George and Nate Kingz are averaging 11.7 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. George is leading the Orange in assists at 5.6 per contest.
Last Time Out:
Senior Nate Kingz converted a contested layup in the final seconds to give the Orange a 79-78 lead, and Syracuse (15-11, 6-7 ACC) held off SMU (17-8, 6-6) in a comeback victory at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Donnie Freeman paced the Orange attack with 18 points and added a career-high four blocks. Senior Naithan George posted 16 points, while freshman Kiyan Anthony tied his ACC scoring high with 13 points off the bench. The Orange made 11 3-pointers, equaling a season high. Freshman Jaden Toombs had 19 points to lead the Mustangs, who saw six players score in double figures. Boopie Miller, the league’s sixth-highest scorer, was held to 11 points, tying a season-low.
Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils enter the week with a 23-2 overall record and a 12-1 record in conference. Duke is No. 2 in NET rankings and is the national leader with 10 Quad-1 wins. (Feb. 14) The Blue Devils have secured eight top-25 victories with wins over No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville (twice), No. 20 Clemson, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU, and No. 25 Kansas. Duke’s eight wins over AP top-25 teams are more than any other Division I team. They’ve won 34 of their last 36 games against conference opponents. Duke is one of just three teams ranked in the top 10 nationally in both offensive efficiency (125.2, 10th) and defensive efficiency (89.3, 2nd) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are seventh nationally in scoring margin (+19.1) and top the conference and rank ninth in the country in rebounding margin (+9.8). The Blue Devils rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (63.1 ppg).
Cameron Boozer is the nation’s fifth-leading scorer with an ACC-high 22.8 points per game and tops the ACC in rebounding (9.9 rpg). Isaiah Evans leads the ACC in free-throw percentage (.888) and is the ACC’s 10th-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 16.8 points per league game. Evans and Patrick Ngongba both are averaging double figures for Jon Scheyer’s team at 14.4 and 10.5 points per game overall, respectively.
Last Time Out:
No. 4 Duke stifled No. 20 Clemson, as the Blue Devils (23-2, 12-1 ACC) held the Tigers (20-6, 10-3 ACC) to a season low in points in a 67-54 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 14. Cameron Boozer led all players in points (18), rebounds (eight), and assists (four), while his twin brother Cayden Boozer finished two points shy of his career high with 12 points. Isaiah Evans rounded out Duke’s double-digit scoring with 17 points, fueled by four three-pointers. Duke tallied its eighth victory over a ranked team, the most by any team in the country this season. The Blue Devils extended their home winning streak to 29 consecutive games, including 16 straight conference victories at home. With the win, Duke snapped Clemson’s 14-game win streak in road conference games.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 25 | 40.0 | 28.8 | 58.0 | .496 | 20.0 | 32.4 | .619 | 8.8 | 25.7 | .341 | 15.9 | 22.2 | .717 | 11.8 | 27.8 | 39.6 | 16.8 | 8.1 | 3.5 | 11.0 | 15.6 | 82.2 |
| Syracuse | 26 | 40.8 | 27.7 | 58.5 | .473 | 20.6 | 37.3 | .553 | 7.0 | 21.2 | .333 | 14.2 | 22.2 | .638 | 10.5 | 24.5 | 35.0 | 13.3 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 11.2 | 16.5 | 76.5 |
Stats Comparison Conference
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 13 | 40.0 | 27.7 | 56.6 | .489 | 19.9 | 32.9 | .605 | 7.8 | 23.7 | .328 | 14.5 | 19.8 | .733 | 9.9 | 24.5 | 34.4 | 15.2 | 8.4 | 2.5 | 10.4 | 14.3 | 77.7 |
| Syracuse | 13 | 41.2 | 28.4 | 59.3 | .479 | 20.8 | 38.0 | .547 | 7.6 | 21.3 | .357 | 14.0 | 20.2 | .695 | 7.7 | 23.2 | 30.8 | 13.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 11.3 | 17.4 | 78.4 |
Projected Starters
Duke Blue Devils
G Caleb Foster 6’5, 205lbs Jr.
G Isaiah Evans 6’6, 180lbs So.
G Dame Sarr 6’8, 190lbs Fr.
F Cameron Boozer 6’9, 250lbs Fr.
C Patrick Ngongba 6’11, 250lbs Sr.
Syracuse Orange
G Naithan George 6’3, 185lbs Jr.
G J.J. Starling 6’4, 206lbs Sr.
G Nate Kingz 6’5, 190lbs RsSr.
F Donnie Freeman 6’9, 205lbs So.
F William Kyle III 6’9, 230lbs Sr.
Final Thoughts
The Blue Devils are playing their third game in six days, it’s hard to not be concerned with fatigue. If Duke can get good bench minutes but moreover good bench production it could make all the difference for the Blue Devils. Syracuse want’s to get out in transition, they are second in the conference in fast-break points (12.4) so the Blue Devils have to guard against turnovers and poor shot selection. The Blue Devils also have to play solid defense in transition. It would be criminally negligent of the Syracuse coaching staff not to attempt to get Duke’s bigs in foul trouble. With Patrick Ngongba wrongly or rightly having garnered a reputation of being foul prone the Orange will be going at he, and Maliq Brown to take advantage of Duke’s lack of depth in the front court. Duke has shown throughout the season they are one of, if not the best defensive team in the nation, this is another chance to prove either against a very talented backcourt.