#14 Duke Blue Devils (9-3, 0-1 ACC) vs. Syracuse (10-3, 1-1 ACC)

Overall Duke leads, 15-6
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 5-2
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 5-2
In Syracuse, NY Duke leads, 5-2
at JMA Wireless Dome Duke leads, 5-2
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 5-2
Last Meeting Duke 77, Syracuse 55 (Feb. 18, 2023)

TV/Video Stream ESPN
Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien
Analyst Jay Williams
Sideline Angel Gray
Producer Kim Belton

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 81

Syracuse enters the new year with a 10-3 overall record and an even record in the ACC at 1-1. The Orange are on a 5 game winning streak the latest being their first ACC victory against Pitt. Syracuse is ranked top 35 in both blocked shots and steals. The Orange are led by a duo of double-figure scoring guards in sophomores Judah Mintz and JJ Starling. Mintz leads the Orange and ranks fourth in the ACC and 40th nationally scoring with an average of 19.2 points per contest, Mintz also leads the Orange with 3.8 assists per game. His backcourt mate, Notre Dame transfer JJ Starling adds 11.8 points per game with 3.8 rebounds. Sophomore forward Chris Bell rounds out the double-figure scorers at 10.9 points per game. Quadir Copeland leads the Orange in rebounding at 5.7 per game, followed by Maliq Brown at 5.6.

Duke is coming off its best offensive output in more than two years after amassing 106 points in a 37-point home win over Queens on Saturday. The last time the Blue Devils scored as many points was on Nov. 22, 2021, a 107-81 victory over The Citadel. Jared McCain scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, to lead Duke to a 106-69 victory over Queens.

McCain has reached the 20-point mark in three of the last four games, averaging 19.8 points per contest during that stretch and has raised his points per game average to 11.7 per game. In the past six games, senior guard Jeremy Roach has distributed 26 assists with just three turnovers, while averaging 17.2 points per contest and shooting 54.1% (33-for-61) from the field, including 10-of-19 from long distance (52.6%). Among ACC leaders, Kyle Filipowski ranks seventh in scoring (18.0 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (2.0 bpg). Filipowski leads the Blue Debvils in both scoring and rebounding. Mark Mitchell is averaging 11.2 points per game to round out the double-figure scorers for the Blue Devils. Duke ranks fourth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (8.9) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (ACC-best 1.90).

G Jeremy Roach 6’2, 180lbs SR
G Caleb Foster 6’5, 197lbs FR
G Jared McCain 6’3, 197lbs FR
F Mark Mitchell  6’9, 232lbs SO
C Kyle Filipowski 7’0, 248lbs SO

G Judah Mintz 6’4, 185lbs SO
G J.J. Starling 6’4, 206lbs SO
F Chris Bell 6’8, 188lbs SO
F Justin Taylor 6’6, 218lbs, SO
C Naheem McLeod 7’4, 265lbs JR

The early part of this season has seen Duke schedule teams with excellent guard play and Syracuse is no different. Mintz and Starling are the engine for a Cuse team that is surprising some with their 10-3 record. Duke will have to contain the penetration of Mintz who can hurt them from both inside and out. Maliq Brown and Quadir Copeland are more than capable of giving the Blue Devils fits on the interior. Brown shoots it at a 75% clip from 2 point range and Copeland is over 53%. Keeping Kyle Filipowski out of foul trouble will be tough against the Orange front line.

For Duke, handing the ball pressure that the Orange are likely to apply will be huge. Limiting turnovers as they did against Queens making Syracuse score against a set defense will be huge for the Blue Devils as will making sure to get the best shots available.