Syracuse (18-10, 7-8 Atlantic Coast) takes on No. 5 Duke (23-5, 11-4) on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The Orange is fresh off a 78-74 home loss to No. 10 North Carolina, and the Blue Devils are winners of four-straight, most recently beating up on Louisville, 82-56.

See how our beat writers think the showdown will play out.

Matthew Gutierrez (23-5)

The Blue Monster
Duke 71, Syracuse 58

Time is running out for Syracuse to extend its streak of beating a Top 10 team every season since 2004-05. Based on how recent years have gone, the Orange is due for a big upset. Just don’t think it will come on the road against a sizzling Duke team that has held three consecutive ACC opponents to under 60 points. That the Blue Devils beat Louisville by 26 points Wednesday night, even without star Marvin Bagley III, who missed his fourth straight game, speaks to how well-rounded this club is.

Sam Fortier (20-8)
Durham bulled
Duke 77, Syracuse 60

This game is tough to pick a score for when we’re uncertain about the statuses of Bagley (injury) and Wendell Carter (reported amateurity violations). But the result shouldn’t be in doubt. The Blue Devils will have the best player on the floor no matter what in Grayson Allen and he’s strong and seasoned enough to lead a roster still rich in talent to the win over the Orange.

Tomer Langer (19-9)
Devilish
Duke 80, Syracuse 64

Duke has been cruising of late, even without Bagley as he remains out with an injury. Syracuse has played well on the road recently, against Louisville and Miami, but this team and environment is on another level. Ultimately, it’s too much for the Orange.

Published on February 24, 2018 at 11:56 am