Syracuse (23-13, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) faces off against Duke Friday in Omaha, Nebraska. The Orange is coming off a huge upset win over Michigan State in which its defense held MSU’s shooters to just 25.8 percent shooting from the field and 28 points less than its season scoring an average of 81. The Blue Devils pose another threat in SU’s tourney run, ranked third and eighth in the NCAA in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, respectively.

Here’s who our beat writers picked for the matchup.

Matthew Gutierrez (29-7)
Dancing past Duke
Syracuse 57, Duke 56

Syracuse is playing the best defense in the country right now. Flat out. Holding three-straight high-powered offenses to under 60 points is poetic. The zone has shifted as well as it has in recent years, junior point guard Frank Howard said following the win over Michigan State. Howard, a key cog in the offense, wasn’t himself all week because he was coming off strep throat. Still, SU won three in a row. Howard and the Orange will be rested up for a rematch against the upset-prone Blue Devils, whose losses include fledgling teams in St. John’s and Boston College.

Sam Fortier (25-11)
Omahahaha
Syracuse 59, Duke 57

The last time these two teams played, Duke missed its first 15 3-pointers and still beat Syracuse by 16 points. Sure, that game was at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the disparity on the floor was apparent. The Blue Devils have size, length and a zone so good Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim joked Duke shouldn’t be allowed to play it.

The difference for the Blue Devils, in addition to Grayson Allen and Trevon Duval in the backcourt, is their two premier talents down-low in Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter. The Orange had no answer for them then and it’s unlikely things have changed in the last month. There is no logical reason for Syracuse to win this game, which is exactly why Syracuse will win this game.

Tomer Langer (24-12)
The student becomes the master
Duke 63, Syracuse 55

I’ve picked Syracuse to lose its last two games, so if you’re rooting for the Orange to win and you’re upset with my pick, you shouldn’t be. Let’s just start with that. The Orange hasn’t gotten the same slew of upsets on its side of the bracket like it did two years ago, so these games have become increasingly more difficult. Each of the three previous teams had some issues facing a zone that it hadn’t seen before.

I won’t argue Matthew’s point that the zone is playing as well as it has, but some of it has to do with its opponents’ unfamiliarity — TCU didn’t attempt a 3-pointer for an eight-minute stretch in the first half, oftentimes pump-faking open looks. Still, I do actually think the zone will be rather effective, like it was the last time these two teams met (although I don’t expect Duke to miss 15 3s in a row). I think the Orange’s issues on the offensive end, which have been mitigated by the unreal defense, will finally catch up against Krzyzewski’s version of the zone.

Published on March 21, 2018 at 4:17 pm