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Amid a race toward making the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament — which, due to expansion, will see three of the conference’s 18 teams miss the field — Syracuse notched a crucial 75-66 win versus the University of California Saturday. Heading into the game, the Orange were on a three-game losing streak following defeats to Clemson, Pittsburgh and Stanford.

A loss to the Golden Bears would’ve dropped SU to 15th in the ACC, the last spot to qualify for the conference tournament. However, Syracuse’s win put it in a three-way tie with Cal and Notre Dame for the 12th-best conference record.

Looking to win consecutive games for the first time since defeating Georgia Tech and Boston College in early January, the Orange hosted Duke. While the Orange hung around early, their deficit slipped to 14 points at halftime. The Blue Devils then broke the game open in the second half, cruising to an 83-54 win — SU’s largest loss of the season.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (10-13, 4-8 ACC) loss to No. 2 Duke (20-2, 12-0 ACC):

Syracuse contains Cooper Flagg

The last two players to be selected No. 1 in the NBA Draft and play in the JMA Wireless Dome in the prior collegiate season were Duke’s Zion Williamson (2019) and Paolo Banchero (2022). Flagg is primed to join them come June.

The top-rated class of 2024 recruit, after re-classifying up a year, entered the bout versus SU averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists — all team-highs. Additionally, he’s the odds-on favorite to win the Wooden Award.

Though against Syracuse, the forward was relatively quiet. It took him over six minutes to attempt his first shot, which he drained from beyond the arc. Before the Orange started playing zone, they tightly contested Flagg, frequently putting the ball in Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor’s hands.

While Flagg was mostly silenced offensively, his impact was felt defensively. Using his 7-foot wingspan, he wreaked havoc on switches. His flashiest play of the half was switching onto J.J. Starling and blocking his right-wing triple at the 10-minute mark.

He entered halftime with seven points shooting 2-of-4 from the field with two made free throws. Four minutes into the second half, Flagg shook free from Jyáre Davis before rattling home his ninth point of the night. On the following possession, he found SU transfer Maliq Brown in transition before he was fouled.

The forward’s biggest highlight came at the 10:17 mark. Receiving the ball on the right wing, he was matched up one-on-one with Naheem McLeod. After an initial hesitation to get the 7-foot-4 center off his feet, Flagg glided inside before hammering home an uncontested dunk, giving the Blue Devils a 59-38 lead.

Flagg finished the game with 11 points (4-of-7 shooting), five rebounds and two assists.

Syracuse alters between man and zone

In SU’s win over Cal, it displayed the program’s former staple — the 2-3 zone. And it worked to perfection. The Golden Bears shot 6-for-35 on 3-pointers, helping Syracuse secure a nine-point win.

“I thought the zone in the last game was good for us,” SU head coach Autry said on Monday. “Obviously, we gotta work on some things. It depends on the opponent, it depends on some things. We always have it and if we need to go to it we will use it.”

Against the Blue Devils, the Orange played man-to-man to start. That stifled Duke in the halfcourt, forcing Knueppel and Proctor to miss 3-pointers. However, out of the under-16 media timeout with the score tied 4-4, the Blue Devils heated up.

First, Knueppel got to the cup for an easy 2. Then, Flagg, on his first shot attempt, drained a left-wing triple. While the Blue Devils couldn’t string baskets together, shooting just 5-of-11 from the field, Syracuse deployed the 2-3 zone out of the under-12 timeout

While it initially gave Duke trouble, backup big man Patrick Ngongba found Isaiah Evans open in the right corner before he drew nylon. Though SU answered with a McLeod inside make, Proctor hit the Blue Devils’ second straight 3 after SU’s zone collapsed.

Then, after Flagg blocked Starling, Sion James nailed a corner 3 in transition, giving the Blue Devils a 20-9 lead midway through the half and forcing Autry to call a timeout. Following the timeout, the Orange didn’t return to a zone for the rest of the first half. Duke entered the break 44.4% from the field, 3.3% below its season average.

However, the Orange couldn’t carry over their strong defensive first half into the second. Between dribble penetrations and pristine ball movement, the Blue Devils picked apart their defense. It wasn’t anything flashy, but a plethora of easy inside makes propelled Duke’s lead to 59-38 midway through the second half.

Duke’s active defense

Heading into their matchup with Syracuse, the Blue Devils were the only team ranked in the top-five of KenPom’s offensive and defensive efficiency. Though Duke’s offense didn’t get off to a hot start, its defense did.

Syracuse began the game shooting 3-of-12 from the field, with Starling scoring every point. Boasted by a lengthy defense, with no rotation player under 6-foot-5, Duke constantly provided help on the perimeter and switched its matchups when needed. This forced contested mid-range shots or 3-pointers, which are both sub-optimal for the Orange.

Syracuse’s best form of offense was getting the ball inside, which it rarely did. On non-layups, the Orange shot 4-of-11 from inside the arc in the first half. Meanwhile, they shot 3-of-10 on 3-pointers, right in line with their 31.9% clip entering the game.

A key fixture in the Blue Devils’ active defense was Brown, who missed four games in January due to injury but returned on Saturday in their win over North Carolina. The forward registered a game-high three steals alongside James, while adding numerous deflections and quality on-ball defense.

The Blue Devils’ defense was stifling in the second half, forcing the Orange to finish the game with a 38.3% clip from the field. Meanwhile, Duke forced 14 steals and six blocks.

SU loses 3-point battle, again

Every game, 3-pointers are a point of discussion for the Orange. Their percentage is the 282nd-best in the country, and they’ve constantly lost the battle from beyond the arc all season. Facing Duke was no different.

While Starling canned a triple in the opening minutes, he was held to 2-for-7 from beyond the arc overall. Meanwhile, Bell was the only other SU player to make more than one 3, finishing 3-of-6.

On the other side, the Blue Devils entered the contest making 36.8% of their triples, the 54th-best mark in the nation. It was on full display against the Orange. Beyond its three consecutive 3s after SU displayed a 2-3 zone, Duke continued firing away from deep, making 9-of-23 triples.

Proctor, who has gradually turned into an elite 3-point shooter throughout his three-year tenure at Duke, led the way by nailing 4-of-10 attempts. Meanwhile, freshman Isiah Evans was the Blue Devils’ only other player with multiple triples (2-of-4). Meanwhile, Syracuse shot 6-for-23 from beyond the arc.

Published on February 5, 2025 at 9:11 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon