Ball Durham
Fansided

Duke Basketball: The Tyus Battle-less Orange are looking for major upset

By Kevin Connelly

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Marek Dolezaj #21 of the Syracuse Orange and Frank Howard (R) reach for the ball controlled by RJ Barrett (C) of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Duke defeated Syracuse 75-65. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Marek Dolezaj #21 of the Syracuse Orange and Frank Howard (R) reach for the ball controlled by RJ Barrett (C) of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. Duke defeated Syracuse 75-65. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tyus Battle is doubtful for the Syracuse Orange against the Duke Basketball team and the Orange are going to need a lot of help if ‘Cuse wants to pull off the upset.

The Syracuse Orange were dealt some bad news on Wednesday afternoon as news came down that star guard Tyus Battle would not play against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Second Round of the ACC Tournament due to a back injury.

After Syracuse’s win, the news didn’t get much better as Jim Boeheim all but ruled out Battle for Thursday night’s matchup against the Duke Blue Devils.

More from Ball Durham

Battle, who was just named to the All-ACC Third Team, is the Syracuse’s scoring leader, averaging 17.2 points per game, while shooting 43.2% from the field and 31.5% from 3-point line.

In both regular season games against the Blue Devils, Battle led the Orange in scoring with 32 points in Syracuse’s win in Durham in January but just 16 points in Duke’s win in the Carrier Dome in late February.

With Battle most likely out of the lineup, the Orange will need other players to step up in his absence.

Syracuse got that production out of Buddy Boeheim, Jim’s son, with his team high 20 points on Wednesday night against Pittsburgh.

Buddy Boeheim made six of his thirteen shots, three of seven from 3-point range, while also adding six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Elijah Hughes and Oshae Brissett also played major roles on Wednesday night, both scoring 18 points each as Hughes also had four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Paschal Chukwu was a force in the paint, as he totaled just seven points, but was dominant with nine rebounds and six blocks.

The Orange got off to a bit of a slow start, trailing 36-30 at halftime to the Panthers, but a strong second half defensively, outscoring Pittsburgh by 20 points, 43-23, led Syracuse to a 73-59 victory.

I’m sure that Mike Krzyzewski is game-planning for Battle to be on the floor on Thursday night, but if he is not, Duke will have a clear advantage,

Duke and Syracuse will be tipping off at approximately 9:30pm ET from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina and the game can be seen 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. 

Home/Duke Basketball