Duke takes their 15 game winning streak on the road to face Syracuse. Keep reading for a full Duke vs Syracuse prediction.
Duke trails the all-time series with Syracuse 16-6, with the Orange losing their last nine against the Blue Devils. Syracuse’s last win in the series came on January 14th, 2019 in Durham. Tyus Battle led the ‘Cuse 95-91 OT win. Syracuse is coming off a 75-66 win at Cal, on a west coast trip where they went 1-1. Duke has won 15 straight, and 11 straight conference games. The Blue Devils are undefeated on the road this season.
Game information:
Teams: Syracuse (10-12, 4-7) and Duke (19-2, 11-0)
Tip-off: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Syracuse Sports Network/ WCCP 105.5 FM
Latest on Duke basketball:
Duke currently sits alone in 1st place in the ACC standings at 11-0, with fifteen straight wins. They just decimated their archrival North Carolina, 87-70, behind a near triple double from Cooper Flagg (21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists). They led by as many as 32, and are well on their way to a 1 seed in March Madness.
The Blue Devils do it all, but as one of the slowest teams in the country. They average 64.7 possessions a game, good for the 310th fastest in the country. They also shoot 10 threes a game, and make 36.8% of them (tied for 57th best in the country).
Duke also hasn’t lost a road or home game. Their two losses came against Kentucky and Kansas on neutral sites by a combined 8 points before December. And it’s all behind the Maine Event: Cooper Flagg. He averages 20 points a game, 8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel also average more than 10 points a game.
Flagg is one of the best players in college basketball. The Orange won’t be able to stop him, but they can hope to find a way to slow him down.
Latest on Syracuse basketball:
Syracuse basketball had lost three straight before they beat Cal 75-66 late Saturday night.
Lucas Taylor led the way with 19 points and 7 boards, with J.J. Starling right behind him with 18. Eddie Lampkin had 6 points and 10 rebounds. They shot well on free throws (17/20), but allowed Cal to get back in the game from the charity stripe. The Golden Bears shot 24/30 on the night. Syracuse also shot above their pay grade from deep, shooting 8/16 (they average 31.9% from three),
Syracuse held Cal to 17% from three (6/35), and 2/14 in the first half. It helped Syracuse sprint out to a 40-23 halftime lead. Cal had multiple stretches of 5+ minutes without a made field goal before the break. Syracuse never trailed, despite Cal cutting it to seven or less on multiple 11-0 runs in the second half.
Syracuse just picked up their first Quad 2 win of the season. If they’re looking to get that elusive Quad 1 win at home vs Duke, they’re going to have to play nearly perfect.
Syracuse vs Duke Prediction: Blue Devils by 20
Syracuse needs to play defense without fouling, and limit the three ball if they want a chance to compete with Duke. They did one of those vs Cal (Cuse held Cal to 6/35 from beyond the arc). But not the other (Cal shot 30 free throws). Duke recently struggled with NC State, but were able to survive due to their ability to get to the line. If Syracuse can stop them from getting to the stripe, and limit their damage from deep, they’ve got a chance to pull the upset. I just don’t see them stringing together 40 consecutive minutes of perfect basketball needed to beat Duke.