Duke basketball: Predicting every win and loss this season

Game 20: Duke basketball versus Syracuse

The Duke Blue Devils will host the Syracuse Orange, unranked to start the year, on Jan. 22 at noon ET (ESPN2) in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Syracuse sits at No. 7 in the 2021-22 ACC Preseason Poll. And that’s despite senior guard Buddy Boeheim, son of 76-year-old head coach Jim Boeheim, receiving the most votes of the five players on the Preseason All-ACC First Team, including the Preseason ACC Player of the Year in Duke freshman Paolo Banchero.

So long as Duke can contain Boeheim and Syracuse’s other pure shooters from deep, Mike Krzyzewski should get the win against his longtime friend, at least in the first of the storied programs’ two scheduled matchups this season.

Simply put, the Orange may not have quite enough skill down low to slow down the likes of Banchero, Mark Williams, and Theo John as the game progresses.

Predicted final score: Duke 81, Syracuse 71

The Blue Devils improve to 17-3 overall (7-2 ACC) on the season.