Duke Basketball: Tyus Battle still the leader of the Syracuse Orange

Tyus Battle is the leader of the Syracuse Orange, and the Duke Basketball team knows that all too well, but the Blue Devils must find a way to stop him on Saturday night.

Duke fans know Tyus Battle much too well.

Battle exploded back on January 14 in Cameron Indoor Stadium when the Syracuse Orange upset the then No. 1 Duke Blue Devils behind 32 points from the junior from Edison, New Jersey.

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In his three year career, Battle is 2-2 against the Blue Devils winning Syracuse’s lone game against Duke his freshman year where he scored 18 points in the win at the Carrier Dome, but the Blue Devils swept the Orange last season once in the regular season and then in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Battle has led the way for the Orange this season, averaging 17.2 points per game while shooting 44.8% from the field, yet struggling from the 3-point arc, only making 29.4% of his shots. Tyus Battle is also averaging 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

Tyus Battle is only one-third of Syracuse’s ‘Big Three’ along with Elijah Hughes and Osahe Brissett.

Hughes is the Orange’s second leading scorer on the season averaging 13.8 points per game and is one of Syracuse’s top 3-point shooters at 35.3% from 3-point territory and 44.1% from the free throw line. The junior is also the team’s third leading rebounder at 4.3 rebounds per game.

Back in January, Hughes scored 20 points which was highlight by 75-foot heave at the buzzer to end the first half.

Brissett was just about right on par with his scoring average back in January, adding 14 points as he averages 13.8 points per game on the season. More importantly, Osahe Brissett is Syracuse’s leading rebounder at 7.9 rebounds per game and he was able to secure eight rebounds in the first matchup with the Blue Devils.

Frank Howard also made his presence known in January with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Howard is the team leader in assists, only averaging 2.6 assists per game and hasn’t been able to score consistently this season, averaging 8.0 points per game.

The Duke Blue Devils have to find a way to contain Paschal Chukwu.

Chukwu has always been a thorn in the Blue Devils side, as last season the senior had six points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes in the February loss to Duke, and then in the Sweet 16 loss, Chukwu had eight points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes of action.

Back in January, Chukwu exploded for 10 points and 18 rebounds off the bench for Syracuse in 32 minutes in addition to three blocks,

To put that game in perspective for Chukwu, his season high in points came back in November against Morehead State when he scored 14. His pervious season high in rebounds came against Arkansas State in December with 13.

Previous to the game against Duke in January, that game in November was the only time Chukwu had been in double figures and the only time he notched double digit rebounds was in that Morehead State game with 10 rebounds.

Since the win against Duke, Chukwu has reached double digit rebounds once in the immediate game after against on January 19 against Pittsburgh with 11 rebounds and he got to 10 points on February 2 on the road against Pittsburgh.

With Zion Williamson reportedly not playing on Saturday night and going against the 2-3 zone of Syracuse, this game has the potential to be low scoring so the Blue Devils have to make sure to lock in on these players on the defensive side of the ball.

Duke and Syracuse will tipoff at 6:00 pm ET on Saturday evening from the Carrier Dome and the game will be televised on ESPN.

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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