Duke holds off Syracuse to advance
Duke used a 10-0 run in the final three minutes to hold off Syracuse.
The madness has begun. March always brings the unexpected in college hoops. It’s a time when shocking upsets take place on the regular.
And Duke was almost on the wrong end for the second time in as many games this month. Syracuse, who Duke defeated by an average of 22.5 points in the two regular season matchups, took the Blue Devils to the limit on Thursday.
Duke eventually held off an undermanned Syracuse squad, 88-79, thanks to a second half push. But the game certainly did not go without some tense moments for Mike Krzyzewski’s squad.
“We got the game we expected,” Krzyzewski said. “Jim’s program — he’s got a program.
“His team’s always play with great confidence. They did today. Great verve.”
They have a lot of pride.
Both teams had something to play for, and this game was close thanks to an intensity level from the Orange that Duke was not able to fully match until the second half.
Let’s paint the picture. Duke entered the game fresh off an upset loss to North Carolina in Krzyzewski’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The disappointment and embarrassment that Duke carried from that loss was believed to be more than enough for the Blue Devils to have a strong response in their first game of the ACC Tournament.
Then there was the fact Duke was a matchup nightmare for Syracuse.
For Syracuse, the game potentially represents the end of their season. They were quite simply playing for their basketball lives. Not only were the odds against them based on Duke’s dominance of them all season, they were playing this game without their star — Buddy Boeheim.
Quite simply, not many - except for Syracuse, and maybe the Blue Devils - thought this would be much of a challenge for Duke.
Right out of the gates it was clear there was something different happening in this game. Syracuse surprised everyone by going away from their zone defense — something that is incredibly rare. Jim Boeheim took a chance by implementing a triangle and two defense, and it paid off.
The defense flustered the Blue Devils early. Duke did begin to break it down briefly in the first half, however, torching the nets from 3-point range, making the first 4-of-6 tries and 6-of-13. Duke was primarily pulling from 3-point range, and the result was a 24-13 lead with 11:48 to go in the first half.
But then the shots stopped falling and Duke kept shooting. After making six 3s in the first 8:12 of the game, they missed their next nine of the half. During that same stretch, Duke attempted just nine two point shot attempts, making just four of those.
“I thought we started the game well, and then fell in love with the 3-point shot and I think thought it was going to be easier,” Krzyzewski said. “And they got momentum. We started fouling and they saw the ball go in a lot. And then it was a helluva game.”
In the meantime, Syracuse was running and dictating the pace. From that point forward, Syracuse outscored Duke 27-12, and the result was 40-36 Syracuse lead at halftime.
Syracuse’s Joseph Girard III and Jimmy Boeheim played lights out in the first half, combining for 28 points. On the other side, Duke was struggling to get Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams and AJ Griffin rolling. The trio averaged a combined 57 points in the previous two matchups. By halftime, they scored just 10 points.
Duke opened the second half much the same way it ended it — uninspired basketball. Syracuse responded by pushing its lead to as many as seven points on three occasions before the first media timeout. The Blue Devils continued to look flustered on both ends of the floor.
The team’s defense was still an issue.
“We’re not playing very good defense right now,” he said. “We did not against North Carolina. We did not in this game. We’re missing a lot of assignments and we fouled a lot of 3-point shooters. We fouled at least three today. You can’t do that. We can improve, definitely, on that end of the court.”
Things did finally start to change for the Blue Devils in the second half — particularly on offense. Wendell Moore Jr. who helped keep Duke in the game in the first half with 13 points, also helped shoot them out of it, stepped up big in the second half. After missing five straight 3s in the first half, Moore limited his 3-point attempts and instead focused on his drive. The result was 13 second half points, and eight assists. He finished the game with 26 points, eight assists and three rebounds.
Moore’s ability to breakdown the Syracuse defense opened opportunities for others, most notably Williams, who scored all 15 of his points in the second half. The Duke center attempted just two shots in the first half, and it was clear Krzyzewski wanted his team to get the ball in his hands.
They did, and it was a difference maker. He finished the game with 15 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
“I thought it was Mark’s best half in the second half this year,” Krzyzewski said. “His coach played defense on him (in the first half). I didn’t get him the ball. My staff at halftime, said, ‘I think we should get Mark the ball.’ So that was a great suggestion.”
Williams chimed in: ”I think my teammates did a great job finding me in certain spots. Obviously, in the first half, I don’t think I scored. In the second half, we were flowing, playing inside-out.”
While Moore and Williams were a force, Jeremy Roach was also a major key to Duke’s ability to pull this game out. Roach, who shot just 1-of-6, including 1-of-5, from 3 point range in the first half, scored 16 second half points to finish with 19 for the game. He was 5-of-6 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Trevor Keels was also key for Duke, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the first half. Paolo Banchero scored just 10 points for the Blue Devils, but added 10 rebounds and seven assists.
It took every bit of these efforts from Duke to hold off Syracuse.
“Proud of my guys for especially executing down the stretch,” Krzyzewski added. “Wendell really led us. The guy who really turned it around for us was Jeremy. Jeremy had a sensational game.”
Girard was a man on a mission in the first half, almost singlehandedly carrying Syracuse to the lead at halftime. He scored 18 of his 23 points, making 3-of-6 attempts from 3 in the first half. Duke did lockdown Girard for much of the second half, holding him to just 1-5 from 3.
Boeheim, however, stepped his game up to a new level in the second half. After scoring 10 points in the opening 20 minutes, he scored 18 points in the second half, thanks to 4-of-6 shooting from the perimeter. He, along with Cole Swider’s 11 second half points — he posted just four points in the first half — were able to keep the game close. Swider concluded the game with 15 points, while Boeheim posted a game-high 28.
In spite of Syracuse’s continued strong play in the second half, Duke was able to close things out with a 10-0 run to end the game — holding Syracuse scoreless over the final 3:32.
The run started with two made free throws from Moore with 2:57 remaining, but the knockout blows came when Roach drilled a 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining to put Duke ahead by six points. Syracuse hit desperation mode in that moment.
Moments later, Girard missed a 3-pointer with Keels rebounding the ball and throwing an outlet pass to Williams, who broke from the defense. Williams flushed a dunk on the fast break with 48 seconds to go, essentially finishing off the Orange.
“We just came back out — I think it was the under four timeout — we all just had this look in our eyes that we were going to get this done. We came together in our huddle. Everybody knew what we were doing for our next three possessions. We wanted to get three stops, and three scores.
“That look I saw in everybody’s eyes — we’re not losing this game.”