Syracuse gets a shot at the ACC leaders when it visits Duke

After winning their last two games at home, Syracuse faces an extremely difficult task when they return to the road for a matchup with #4 Duke. While the Orange (15-11, 6-7 ACC) are mired in the middle of the conference standings, the Blue Devils (23-2, 12-1) are atop the ACC, having suffered their lone loss two Saturdays ago at North Carolina on a near buzzer-beater.

Duke bounced back from that defeat by claiming a pair of wins in the last week, including a 67-54 win over #20 Clemson on Saturday. As in many of their games this season, the Blue Devils were led in points, rebounds, and assists by superstar freshman forward Cam Boozer.

In fact, Boozer has led the squad in scoring in 19 of their 25 games on the season, rebounding 22 times, and assists 17 times. The superstar freshman is averaging 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on the season while also leading Duke in steals, and 3-point shooting percentage. He is simply a do-everything player for the Blue Devils.

While Boozer might be the best player in college basketball, Duke is not just a one-man show

Guards Isaiah Evans and Caleb Foster form a solid backcourt in support. Evans is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and is the most frequent threat from the perimeter, leading Duke with 62 3-pointers made. Foster is more of a well-rounded player, shooting 38.5 percent from long range with some playmaking skills to round out his contributions.

Patrick Ngongba starts at center, contributing just over ten points and six rebounds in under 23 minutes per outing. Ngongba is a strong rebounder on both ends of the floor and is the best rim protector among the Blue Devils.

Former SU player Maliq Brown fills the glue guy role he always has, scoring extremely efficiently in limited shot attempts while being an excellent defender. Brown also leads Duke in steal rate while also helping protect the interior.

Duke's defense presents the greatest challenge of all

And that defense is the Blue Devils’ calling card, as the team is an elite defensive unit, standing second in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom. Their weakest spots are that they are not a top-end team at shotblocking and forcing turnovers. Otherwise, the Duke defense is extremely difficult to crack.

The Blue Devils are also a superior rebounding unit on both ends of the floor and shoot the ball extremely well inside the arc. They are just an average 3-point shooting team and will commit some turnovers.

Syracuse is facing an extremely difficult task without any clear areas to attack. With Boozer’s height, he will most likely draw Donnie Freeman as a defender to start, as well as Sadiq White Jr. off the bench in man-to-man. Both players will be giving up weight and strength in this matchup and will have a hard time slowing Boozer down.

Otherwise, the temptation is there for the Orange to try to force Duke to beat them from the outside. SU has been playing more 2-3 zone defense in recent weeks and that will likely be deployed at times to force the Blue Devils, who have shot under 33 percent from beyond the arc in ACC play, into relying on their perimeter shooting by packing things tight inside the arc.

With Duke’s defensive strength, it may be the best strategy to see if Syracuse can benefit from some poor shooting luck. However, the Orange has struggled of late protecting the defensive glass, particularly with their lack of top-end height and strength. Four of their last six opponents have posted an offensive rebounding rate of at least 37.5 percent.

In all, Monday night will likely be a long night.

Duke 84, Syracuse 61.

SUPPORT THE JUICE ONLINE

For more discussion on Syracuse athletics, visit our free Syracuse Orange discussion forum.