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Duke Basketball: What Blue Devils fans should expect from Syracuse

By Kevin Connelly

SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 05: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half of the game at Purcell Pavilion on January 5, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Syracuse won 72-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 05: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half of the game at Purcell Pavilion on January 5, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Syracuse won 72-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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After a major road victory over Florida State, the Duke Basketball team returns home to face the Syracuse Orange in an ACC rivalry battle.

Ahead of Monday’s matchup against the Syracuse Orange, the site experts here at Ball Durham got a chance to catch up with the site experts at the Syracuse site, Inside the Loudhouse, to get their thoughts on the Duke vs. Syracuse matchup.

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Q: This Syracuse team had high expectations coming into this and it seems that they have clearly fallen short of those expectations so far, how can they turn things around in ACC play? 

A: Well it seemed as if they have starting off ACC play with two very nice wins on the road vs Notre Dame and a home win vs Clemson. That was all eradicated with a stinky loss to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have a stout defense, but their offense leaves much to be desired. Syracuse HAD to win that game, now they’re firmly on the bubble halfway through their season. The good thing and bad thing is this: Syracuse plays in the ACC and Syracuse plays in the ACC. Let me explain. On one hand Syracuse faces a daunting task when you look at all the tough teams in the ACC and that presents quite a challenge. On the other hand, it presents quite the opportunity, so Syracuse’s season isn’t over quite yet, but they have to get some skins on the wall during ACC play, on the road vs Duke would be one crazy one to get. 

Q: It’s never easy coming into Cameron Indoor Stadium, but what is the best way for Syracuse to come to Durham and try and get a win? 

A: A few different things. Syracuse could lock all the Duke players in the locker room and win by forfeit. The Orange could give food poisoning to the Blue Devils or maybe something else of that nature. All kidding aside, I’m not sure it is physically possible to beat Duke. Sure some teams have been close, but no real cigars to speak of. If the Orange would’ve won their fifth in a row and stayed undefeated in conference play, perhaps I could’ve cooked up some optimistic look at how Syracuse can shock the world. 

Q: Duke is not a strong 3-point shooting team this season, how could that affect the Blue Devils’ success against the Syracuse zone? 

A: Syracuse is going to pack that 2-3 zone in tight. By doing so Syracuse will basically dare Duke to beat them over the top. If Syracuse is loosey goosey in the middle, it’s going to be game over. Duke will swiss cheese the 2-3 zone, create penetration, and then be able to kick out for open threes. Syracuse needs to tighten up the ship defensively. Wait Duke isn’t a strong three point shooting team? I guess they’re human after-all. 

Q: How has Tyus Battle evolved as a player from last season to this season?

A: Well if you remember last season, Tyus Battle was the straw that stirred the drink and put up some gaudy numbers, albeit inefficient gaudy numbers. But he had no choice in fairness, there was only five and a half guys on the team last season, so if Battle didn’t drop 20 a night, Syracuse likely lost. This season (in theory) it’s all different. With overflowing depth at a variety of positions, Battle can now be more selective in his shot selection and so far that has given him an uptick in his field goal percentage. The overall offense has been super inconsistent so everyone needs to pick it up, but Battle has continued to be THE guy for the Orange. 

Q: Who is a under the radar player that Duke fans should keep an eye on during the game? 

A: I’ll give you two names. One is Elijah Hughes, if you look at the box score he isn’t under the radar (second on the team in scoring). But if you go by the name test, he is under the radar. He didn’t play on the team last year due to NCAA transfer rules, so he was a bit of a wildcard heading into this season in terms of what he’d bring. He’s an absolute spark plug offensively, rebounding, and with pace. Look for him to have a major impact on this game. 

Marek Dolezaj is captain underrated. Over the last five games he has started at center giving the Orange a secret weapon of sorts. While he’s going to give up a ton of size to the much larger centers in the ACC, he counters that with phenomenal court vision, movement, and outside scoring. Marek is a selfless player, he doesn’t care if he scores. He just makes winning plays, stuffs the stat sheet with blocks, assists, points, I mean he can do it all. Not a lot of people know about him, but they will soon enough.

Next. Top 10 game-winning shots of the Coach K era. dark

Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Syracuse Orange. 

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