Are these games telling us anything about the Orange? SU will obviously not be in the tourney, but would like to show the world it’s better than its record indicates. But in¬†what was by far the least exciting of the two team‚Äôs meetings since become ACC rivals, the Blue Devils blew out the Orange 73-54.
The game started sloppy for both teams. At the under-12 TV timeout, Duke already had seven turnovers and Syracuse had six. The hectic play worked to the Orange’s advantage, as it was able to stay within striking distance for the majority of the game and even led at parts of the first half. Despite dismal shooting from Syracuse, Duke led by only nine points (34-25) at the half.
The second half was a different story. Duke started taking advantage of Syracuse turnovers and never led by less than seven. The dagger for the Orange was the fouling out of star center Rakeem Christmas, who managed to pick up three fouls in just over 10 minutes in the second half. With Christmas out, all hope was lost. Duke cruised for the rest of the game.
Duke shockingly gave the ball away more often than the Orange, with 17 turnovers compared to Syracuse’s 15. The real difference was in shooting. Syracuse shot just 19 for 62 from the field (30.6%) and 3 of 20 from long range. Kaleb Joseph was the only starter who didn’t score in double digits; he was held scoreless in 17 minutes on the floor.
Justice Winslow led the Blue Devils with 23 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds as well. Jahlil Okafor outplayed Christmas for the second straight meeting between the two, putting up 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The next game for the Orange is against Virginia. It’s the last home game of the year for the team and Senior Night for Rakeem Christmas. Even though the Orange has nothing to play for, hopefully SU shows strong until the end of the year. Unlike this game.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
One response to “Be-Deviled! Syracuse Gets Blown Out By Duke at Cameron Indoor”
CALLING ALL BASKETBALL FANS,CALLING ALL SYRACUSE BASKETBALL FANS.
We’ve talked a lot about the mens basketball team on this website and feel that it’s high time we give the women’s team some coverage and respect that’s long been overdue.
The women’s team finished the regular season with a 21-7 11-5 ACC overall record,good enough to get a 4 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. Over the last couple of years “Coach Q” has put together top 10 recruiting classes and looks like the 2015 class is the best ever recruited to play for the orange.
4* (ESPN 100) 6‚Äô2‚Äù Post player Julia Chandler—-HS Northern Secondary School (CAN)
4* (ESPN 100) 6‚Äô1‚Äù Swing Player Jade Phillips—HS Southwest Raleigh H.S. (NC)
4* (ESPN 100) 5’9” Guard Davida Dale HS La Salle Academy (RI)
3* Guard Abby Grant HS Saint Francis H.S. (GA)
Verbal 6’5” Center/Post Player Ming Yao HS west Oaks Academy (FL)
Syracuse has played and has hung tough with some of the very best teams in the land this year,#1 South Carolina,#4 Notre Dame,#5 Duke,#9 Baylor and beat #13 North Carolina. I feel with this group of current recruits the Women’s Basketball team will take a step to the next level by becoming one of the elite programs in the country.
So when I make a statement”CALLING ALL SYRACUSE BASKETBALL FANS.” I feel it’s time that we as a group not only support the mens program but let’s start supporting the women’s program too. They’ve earned it,so ,let’s play our part,and it wouldn’t hurt for the ORANGE FIZZ to start covering their games.