There were always spirited debates if the Duke basketball team was a rival with Syracuse shortly after the school joined the ACC.
Tight games, elite coaches, and highlight ranked programs were the hallmark of the sport when the Blue Devils and Orange met, which has now turned into any other game on the conference schedule.
Syracuse has not defeated Duke since 2019 and weren’t even in the same weight class despite being at home on Wednesday night, losing to No. 2 Duke by 29 points, 83-54.
The game was out of reach quickly in the first half after the Orange experimented with a zone defense and the Blue Devils (20-2, 12-0 ACC) carved it up with three consecutive 3-pointers by Isaiah Evans, Tyrese Proctor, and Sion James. It made the score 20-9 and Duke never looked back.
Proctor, after missing two free throws and two field goals in the first four minutes, caught fire in the first half with three 3-pointers including a triple inside the final 15 seconds to push the lead to 14 points, 37-23, at halftime.
He finished the night with 16 points, a team high, despite only playing 28 minutes.
The Blue Devils saw five different players score at least 10 points in the victory, including a relatively quiet performance from Cooper Flagg with 11 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Still, it was more than enough for Duke to win its 16th straight game because its defense was as strong as ever, holding Syracuse (10-13, 4-8 ACC) to 38.3-percent shooting from the field and 26.1-percent from 3-point range.
Despite a 14-point halftime lead, Duke outscored Syracuse by 15 points in the second half and showed no letup in the rout.
Mason Gillis did not make the trip to upstate New York due to illness as the Blue Devils will hope he returns for another road matchup on Saturday evening (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) against the Clemson Tigers (18-5, 10-2 ACC).