Duke basketball will not face ACC leading scorer in tournament

The Duke basketball team will not face the ACC’s leading scorer in Brooklyn. 

Major news became public on Wednesday night regarding the first Duke basketball postseason game of the year.

The Blue Devils will not have to prepare for the ACC leading scorer Buddy Boeheim.

Boeheim, the star senior guard for Syracuse, was suspended by the league for one game after his actions on Wednesday against Florida State in the First Round of the ACC Tournament.

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Buddy Boeheim appeared to punch Florida State guard Wyatt Wilkes in the stomach area on his way back up the floor in the first half.

There was no foul called on the floor, and Boeheim released a statement after the game stating his apology.

The 6-foot-6 guard could have been playing in his final college game on Thursday, if Duke were to defeat Syracuse, as the Orange do not seem destined for any postseason tournament.

Boeheim scored 14 points in Syracuse’s 96-57 victory over the Seminoles on Wednesday and is averaging 19.3 points per game and shooting 40.8-percent from the floor this season.

Syracuse star has mixed results against Duke basketball

Duke defeated Syracuse in both regular-season matchups, and the impact of Buddy Boeheim was not felt in either game.

The Blue Devils cruised to a 79-59 victory in Durham on January 22, in which Boeheim had just seven points on 2-of-15 shooting and 1-of-10 from 3-point range.

Boeheim had a better game in the second matchup with Duke, but his team fared worse.

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In its trip to upstate New York, Duke rolled to a 97-72 victory over the Orange on February 26. Boeheim was the only bright spot for Syracuse with 23 points on 10-of-21 shooting, 3-of-10 from deep.

Villanova transfer Cole Swider went for 28 points on Wednesday against Florida State.

Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EST on Thursday (ESPN) from the Barclays Center between No. 1 seed Duke (26-5, 16-4 ACC) and No. 9 seed Syracuse (16-16, 9-11 ACC).