No matter who emerged from Wednesday’s ACC tournament second-round game between Syracuse and Florida State, top-seeded Duke awaited a third meeting of the season between the teams.
Syracuse became that team, building an early 15-point lead and leading by 23 at halftime on the way to beating the Seminoles, 96-57, at Barclays Center.
That means Duke (26-5), which split its two regular-season games with Florida State, will aim for its third win over the No. 9 seeded Orange (16-16) when the teams play in Thursday’s first ACC tournament quarterfinal game at noon.
Since Syracuse’s only path to the NCAA Tournament is winning four games in four days to claim the ACC championship and an automatic bid, this is likely the final game Hall of Fame coaches Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse will coach against one another. Krzyzewski will retire following this season.
Here’s a look at the matchup:
The regular-season games
Duke dominated Syracuse when the teams met at Cameron in January and at the Carrier Dome in February.
On Jan. 22, on a day when the Orange hit just 5 of 29 3-pointers, the Blue Devils posted a 79-59 win. Four Duke players — Mark Williams, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Moore and A.J. Griffin — each scored 15 points to share the team lead.
But it was Duke’s defense that led the way by limiting the Orange, who produced just 0.88 points per possession while shooting 35.5% overall, including 17.6% on 3-pointers.
A month later, on Feb. 26, the Blue Devils led by 21 points 10 minutes into the game and 30 points later in the first half on the way to a 97-72 win.
The most recent game is notable as Duke produced 1.59 points per possession that night, it’s best offensive efficiency in any game this season. For the season, Duke produced 1.19 points per possession, which is good for No. 5 nationally, according to KenPom.com.
So Duke is a good offensive team. But on that Saturday night at the Carrier Dome, the Blue Devils were exceptional.
Will Buddy Boeheim play?
The ACC has suspended Syracuse senior guard Buddy Boeheim for Thursday’s Duke-Syracuse game after he punched Florida State’s Wyatt Wilkes during Syracuse’s win Wednesday.
Boeheim, the ACC’s leading scorer this season at 19.3 points per game, was involved in a controversial play during Wednesday’s game with Florida State. About halfway through the first half, with Syracuse up 25-10, Boeheim bumped shoulders with Wilkes under the basket. As they turned to run up the floor, Boeheim very clearly reached across his body and slugged Wilkes in the solar plexus with his right hand.
“In the heat of today’s game, after some shoving in the lane, I swung my arm while turning to go back up the court. It was wrong to act out in frustration,” Boeheim said in a statement. “I apologized to Wyatt Wilkes multiple times in the handshake line. He said not to worry about it, but I know I was wrong. I pride myself in respecting the game and our opponent. I will not react that way again.”
Even though Wilkes crumpled to the court, the officials somehow missed the play and it was never video-reviewed.
During a post-game press conference after watching the video clip, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, Buddy’s father, initially defended his son by saying it wasn’t a punch and he should face no discipline.
“I don’t think he hit him,” Jim Boeheim said. “He just swung around and there was contact. The kid pushed him twice. You can’t just let people push you around.”
Later, Jim Boeheim said Buddy Boeheim simply retaliated to Wilkes’ earlier contact.
“He got pushed and he retaliated,” Jim Boeheim said. “He shouldn’t have done it but he did. He swung around, and contact was made. If the referee had seen it, it would have been a flagrant one. That would have been it.”
Duke dangerous vs. zone defense
Syracuse doesn’t just play a conventional 2-3 zone defense, rather the Orange are renowned for their version of that zone that traps foes and prevents drives to the basket.
The Blue Devils, though, have proven more than able to handle any zone defense thrown at them this season.
According to Synergy Sports analytics, Duke’s 1.12 points per possession against zones ranks in the 91st percentile nationally to give it an excellent rating. The Blue Devils shot 50.5% while turning it over on just 11.5% of their possessions.
Overall this season, Duke is a 48.9% shooting team and they’ve turned it over on 15% of their possessions against all defenses. That’s an impressive percentage that’s good for No. 19 nationally. But Duke is even tougher to turn over when an opponent is in a zone.
Who are Duke’s best bets for a big game?
Williams, Duke’s 7-1 sophomore center, turned in his best performance of the season when Duke won at Syracuse. Williams scored 28 points on 11 of 14 shooting while also grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking three shots. Williams averaged 21.5 points in the two games against the Orange.
That makes sense as he’s made 84.8% of his shots — mostly dunks — from the field against zone defenses this season.
Banchero, Duke’s 6-10 freshman, averaged 18 points per game against Syracuse this season. Griffin, another freshman, averaged 17.5 points in the two games.
Banchero is a big key to Duke’s offense against the Syracuse zone as he is able to take an entry pass at the free throw line area in the middle of the sets. Then, Banchero can either shoot or, if the defense collapses on him, kick the ball out to an open shooter or pass down low to Williams on a high-low play.
That’s why Banchero collected nine assists in the teams’ February game.
What Syracuse players should Duke focus on?
Though Buddy Boeheim led the ACC in scoring at 19.3 points per game this season, Cole Swider turned in a big game against Florida State on Wednesday.
A 6-9 graduate transfer from Villanova, Swider scored 28 points with 13 rebounds against the Seminoles. He did it with his size inside and also while making 4 of 5 3-pointers. That versatility probably means Banchero would match up with him defensively for Duke.
Joe Girard is Syracuse's other veteran guards up top. He is capable of a big scoring games if his 3-point shooting is strong. Girard was made 40.7% of his 3-pointers this season.
They combined to make 2 of 16 against Duke at Cameron in January and were only slightly better (5 of 18) at the Carrier Dome. Sure they missed some open shots, but their struggles are a testament to Duke’s guards making them uncomfortable shooters.
