DURHAM, N.C. — No. 6 Duke shrugged off its loss at Florida State earlier in the week with a stellar shooting performance to rout Syracuse.
With AJ Griffin hitting a team-best five 3-pointers, the Blue Devils hit 14 3s over the Orange’s vaunted zone defense to post a 79-59 ACC basketball win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Griffin hit 5 of 9 3-pointers in the game to score 15 points for the Blue Devils (15-3, 5-2 ACC). Three other Duke players — Paolo Banchero, Wendell Moore and Mark Williams — also scored 15 points as the four tied for the team lead.
Joey Baker hit three 3-pointers to score 11 points in a reserve role for Duke.
The 14 3-pointers the Blue Devils hit were one off their season high.
“We played really well,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We’re getting better. It’s been a tough time since Christmas with COVID and Trevor’s injury. These kids are hanging in there, getting better and today they played really well, especially on the defensive end. We were connected on the offensive end with balanced scoring. For a few minutes there in the second half, I thought it was the best we’ve played.”
Duke’s success from long distance was in contrast Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 ACC). The Orange shot 35.3% for the game, including a frigid 5 of 29 on 3-pointers (17.2%).
“Duke’s very good,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said, “but at the end of the day we have to make some of those shots.”
The Blue Devils played without freshman Trevor Keels, a 6-5, 221-pound guard who had started each of Duke’s previous 17 games this season. Keels, who suffered calf injury on his right leg during Duke’s 79-78 overtime loss at Florida State on Tuesday night, was on Duke’s bench in street clothes.
Without Keels, Jeremy Roach returned to the starting lineup after playing in a reserve role in Duke’s last three games. He led Duke with nine assists as the Blue Devils played well in Keels’ absence.
“Duke never loses two games in a row,” Roach said. “After that loss, we came out hungry.”
In addition to his 15 points, Banchero led Duke with 13 rebounds while also netting four assists. Moore dished out eight assists while grabbing six rebounds.
After Duke’s 15 turnovers played role in its loss at Florida State, Roach, Moore and Griffin each had just one against Syracuse.
After leading 36-22 at halftime, Duke quickly turned the game one-sided as the Orange started the half making just 3 of their first 10 shots while missing four of five 3-pointers. Moore’s 3-pointer with 14:42 to play pushed Duke’s lead over 20 points for the first time at 50-29.
At that point, Syracuse had scored just .674 points per possession in the game.
When Banchero hit his lone 3-pointer of the game with 12:45 to play, the Blue Devils led 58-33 and were never threatened.
Syracuse’s poor shooting and Griffin’s marksmanship for Duke allowed the Blue Devils to build a 36-22 halftime lead.
The Orange hit only 9 of 34 shots (26.5%) in the first half, including 2 of 16 3-pointers. Griffin hit four of Duke’s seven 3-pointers, including back-to-back 3s during a 14-5 run where the Blue Devils pulled away to lead 30-20.
Buddy Boeheim missed all seven of his first-half shots while his brother Jimmy Boeheim was 1 of 6.
Jimmy Boeheim finished 4 of 11 from the field to score 12 points, tying him with Jesse Edwards for the team lead. Buddy Boeheim hit just 2 of 15 shots, including 1 of 10 on 3-pointers. Starting guard Joe Girard was 3 of 13 from the field while making 1 of 9 3-pointers.
