Duke Postgame Locker Room Report: Jesse Edwards
All Syracuse caught up with Syracuse center Jesse Edwards after the Orange's loss to Duke Saturday night. We discussed what went wrong against the Blue Devils and how the team can use this as a learning moment moving forward. Watch the interview in the video above.
GAME RECAP
Syracuse basketball saw its three game winning streak end as it fell to Duke 77-55 inside the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday night. With the loss, the Orange dropped to 16-11 (9-7) on the season. Next up for Syracuse are back to back road games at Clemson and at Pittsburgh. It was Duke's eighth straight win over Syracuse.
The game was close early, with each team taking turns holding a slim lead. At the under eight media timeout, the game was tied at 19. That's when things took a turn in Duke's favor. A 21-2 run over a six minute span saw the Blue Devils take control of the game. Syracuse would not get closer than nine the rest of the way.
The Blue Devils half court defense was simply too much for the Syracuse offense. Nothing came easy as Duke was physical with the Orange guards and its length inside bothered anyone who drove. When Syracuse would look to Jesse Edwards, Duke would double team him to force the ball out of his hands or to try to make a shot over two long defenders.
On the other end, Syracuse did a nice job inside for most of the first half, but the perimeter defense left shooters wide open too often. Duke was 8-14 from three in the first half compared to just 1-6 for Syracuse. In addition, Duke dominated the glass to create second chance opportunities. That allowed Duke to jump out to the 13 point halftime lead that was too much for the Orange to overcome. Duke would finish 13-26 (50%) from three point range, a season high shooting percentage for the Blue Devils.
Joe Girard led Syracuse with 21 points on 5-9 shooting including 4-7 from beyond the arc. Judah Mintz added 18 points and three steals. No one else had more than six for the Orange.
Jeremy Roach led Duke with 17 points. He and Dariq Whitehead combined to hit seven three pointers. The Blue Devils outrebounded Syracuse 38-25 and outscored the Orange in the paint 34-22.
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