Next up for Duke is a Monday visit from the Syracuse Orange. The Blue Devils get a Saturday-Monday turnaround which is actually useful since it simulates the NCAA tournament structure where you (hopefully) play a second time with one day’s rest (in fairness, so does the Orange, and they have to fly, too).
At 15-11 and 6-7 in the ACC, you might think that Syracuse isn’t particularly dangerous. That would be a poor assumption.
This team took Houston to overtime, losing 78-74, lost to Kansas 71-60, beat
Tennessee, lost to Hofstra by 1, to Clemson by 3, and to Virginia Tech by 2.
We’d have to say if you can take Houston to OT, knock off Tennessee and take Clemson down to the wire, you’re a dangerous team by definition. And Duke is doing a quick turnaround, which tends to affect shooting. So don’t go into this one thinking it’s house money. It’s probably not going to be.
Syracuse has some pretty good talent. Naithan George, a 6-3 junior who transferred from Georgia Tech, is the point guard and ACC fans know he’s pretty tough. Nate Kingz, a 6-5 senior, transferred in from Oregon State and he’s fresh off hitting the game winner against SMU Saturday.
William Kyle, a 6-9/230 lb. transfer from UCLA, is not a major offensive threat, but he’s a good, rugged defender.
Arguably the best play for Syracuse though is 6-9 sophomore Donnie Freeman. He missed most of last year with a fractured fifth metatarsal (aka a Jones fracture) after just 14 games.
He needs to work on his overall game and his defense, but is he a legitimate NBA candidate? Yes, he is. This is a guy who could make his living playing basketball for 20 years, whether in the NBA or overseas. He’s really talented.
He’ll be a handful for Duke to defend. He’s quicker than Patrick Ngongba and our guess is Jon Scheyer won’t want to put Cameron Boozer on him because Boozer’s primary responsibilities are on offense. Could Dame Sarr keep up with him? Possibly, but he gives up a lot of size. That could mean a bigger role for Maliq Brown. It also means that fouls are going to be a concern. Duke can’t afford to give up a lot of fouls to Freeman.
Basically, with Freeman, Kyle and Kingz, Syracuse has a solid frontcourt and with Starling and George, the backcourt is pretty good too. Toss in 6-5 freshman Kiyan Anthony, Carmelo’s kid, 6-8/225 lb. sophomore Tyler Betsey and 6-9/195 lb. freshman Sadiq White out of Charlotte, and you’ve got enough talent to compete with anyone, as Houston learned earlier this season.
That said, Syracuse has issues.
They don’t protect the inside very well for one. Early on, they were a great defensive team inside the line. Lately though (meaning since December 31st), the ‘Cuse has just been pounded inside. It’s a serious problem. Their perimeter defense has also lagged at times. Their defensive efficiency has fallen to 125th nationally.
And in close games, Syracuse’s foul shooting has become a problem. They’re hitting just 63.8% from the line. Against Houston, it probably cost them the game since they shot just 12-29 from the stripe.
Syracuse has also not rebounded very well and has a tendency to give up follow-up shots.
Offensively, JJ Starling, once a Duke recruiting target, has not been particularly effective. Last year, with Freeman out, it was understandable, but this year? He can certainly score, but he’s not necessarily reliable. A junior now, he is what he is. He can heat up though and remains dangerous, despite his poor efficiency. Like Kyle, who shoots just 50%, Starling is awful at the line, hitting a slightly better 54.4%.
Unfortunately for Syracuse, George can’t make up for Starling’s offensive shortcomings, and really, as point guard shouldn’t be expected to (though he had some brilliant moments at Georgia Tech).
Like every other Duke opponent, Syracuse will focus heavily on stopping Boozer. If they do a poor job of containing him, that will make their job much tougher.
They’ll also have to deal with Ngongba and Brown inside.
All three of Duke’s bigs are unusually good passers, which will require a lot of Orange attention.
And then there’s Duke’s perimeter game.
Isaiah Evans is the three-point shooter who coaches don’t want to see heat up, but he’s not the only one. Boozer is a solid perimeter sniper as are Sarr, Darren Harris, Nik Khamenia, and of course Caleb Foster and Cayden Boozer, who are both coming along as three-point shooters as well.
Stats are great, but the game, as always, is played between the lines. And while Duke has better-regarded talent, Syracuse has their share. Duke wears blue, but for a lot of teams, it might as well be bullfighter’s red, because the Blue Devils tend to get everyone’s best effort. You can expect to get a major effort from the Orange.
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