Syracuse trailed by 5 late in the 1st half. Then Duke turned into Duke.
Syracuse trailed Duke by just five points late in the first half. The Blue Devils then rattled off a 72-40 run in the final 23 minutes to beat the Orange by 37. Courtesy of Rui Yang | The Duke Chronicle
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
DURHAM, N.C. — Seventeen minutes into Monday’s contest, Syracuse trailed the No. 3 team in the country by just five. The Orange were already cruising toward their worst offensive half of the season. Yet, SU’s defense held the Blue Devils’ offense down in the halfcourt.
Fast forward three minutes to the end of the first half, and Syracuse was trailing by 16. The Orange had a fighter’s chance. But we knew how this would go. Duke became Duke.
Syracuse (15-12, 6-8 Atlantic Coast) fell 101-64 to No. 3 Duke (24-2, 14-1 ACC), dropping its 11th-straight game versus the Blue Devils. The Orange allowed a 72-40 run through the game’s final 23 minutes en route to its worst-ever ACC loss. As Duke cements itself as a top team in the country, Syracuse continues to sink further into a far away category — just another ACC school.
“They make us pay for the little things, not being in the right spots at the right times,” SU center William Kyle III said of the Blue Devils postgame. “That’s what great teams do.”
Duke, once again, is exactly that. A great team. In Jon Scheyer’s fourth year since taking over for Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils are looking at yet another year of top draft picks, an ACC title and a top March Madness seed. Duke entered Monday having won its last 29 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Could Syracuse, a team with a 4-14 road record over the last two seasons, really stop a buzzsaw? Early on, it looked like the Orange had a chance.
Even as projected top NBA Draft pick Cameron Boozer went to work inside and Isaiah Evans popped on the pick and roll, SU stayed within reach. The Orange’s offense was far from clicking, but they committed only two turnovers and limited transition points.
Then Syracuse began to hand over the ball.
First, Cayden Boozer knocked down a wide open left corner 3. Patrick Ngongba got to the free throw line and sank the pair, but then the turnover barrage began. Nate Kingz turned the ball over, leading to a Cameron layup. Naithan George turned the ball over, again leading to a Cameron layup. Then, Freeman turned the ball over, leading to a 3 by Evans.
Within the blink of an eye, Duke was off an 11-0 run.
“That just started the run and the momentum,” Autry said. “That’s something you can’t do against any good team, but especially at Duke.”
Limiting turnovers — and transition points — was a point of emphasis in Syracuse’s limited preparation window for the game. Autry couldn’t even celebrate SU’s win over SMU Saturday before being asked about the impending matchup with the Blue Devils. As Duke’s been home in Durham since last Wednesday, the Orange made a quick turnaround off the win over the Mustangs, left with one day to prepare for one of their toughest tasks.
But Autry knew what was coming.
“It’s Duke,” Autry said postgame Saturday, allowing the program’s pedigree to speak for itself. Coaches used to talk about the Orange in a similar fashion. Not anymore.
The turnovers only compounded the glaring issue Syracuse faced offensively. It relied on the 3-pointer for 50% of its first-half points, making 4-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Orange weren’t much better from 2-point range, making 6-of-15 attempts in the first 20 minutes. Autry felt Duke’s defense — which entered as the second-best in the country per KenPom — became the aggressor, forcing Syracuse out of its rhythm in the process. Kyle said he felt the Orange weren’t organized offensively, admitting the roaring crowd of Duke fans may have affected SU’s ability to communicate its sets.
Forward Tyler Betsey, who went 2-for-8 from the field, saw it differently.
“We kind of just lost our focus, I think, by not making the shots that we generated in the first half,” Betsey said. “I think we got all the shots that we wanted, but they really just didn’t fall.”
As Syracuse devolved into its usual form, Duke turned into its own as well. The distinction was reflected on the scoreboard. Blue Devils from last year — NBA players Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach and Sion James — watched from the stands as a new era took over.
Fresh off an 11-0 run to end the first half, Duke rattled off a 12-4 run through the second half’s first three minutes and change. The Blue Devils entered as a below average 3-point shooting team, hitting on just 34.1% of their triples, but suddenly caught fire from deep. Freshman Nikolas Khamenia nailed all three of his attempts, and Duke converted on 9-of-12 shots from beyond the arc in the second half.
In the paint, Cameron found success again, with Kyle tiring and backup options Akir Souare and Sadiq White Jr. adding little relief. At the final buzzer, it was apparent which team was cruising toward its fifth straight March Madness, and which one was heading to its fifth straight March without madness.
Syracuse rode into Cameron Indoor hot, using the momentum it generated off of two straight wins. Yet, it exited with one of its biggest beat downs. This was a different animal.
