Ranking haters of Duke basketball greatness: No. 7 Syracuse
Oh, if only vacated wins actually counted. If that was the case, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim would be within striking distance of Mike Krzyzewski’s all-time wins record. Oh well. Lesson learned. Actions have consequences.
Speaking of action, there wasn’t much between the Blue Devils and Orange before Syracuse joined the ACC prior to the 2013-14 season. At the time, Duke was 2-2 in the series, yet both its wins had taken place in the NCAA Tournament.
But as soon as Boeheim completely lost his cool while picking up an ejection in the final minute of the two schools’ second meeting as conference foes, a 66-60 home win by Duke, the hate from Syracuse faithful quickly multiplied.
Coach K is now 8-4 against Boeheim ever since Syracuse entered the conference, including wins in both postseason encounters: 2018 Sweet 16 and 2019 ACC Tournament Quarterfinals.