No. 11 seed Syracuse (23-13, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) is traveling to Omaha, Nebraska, to take on No. 2 seed Duke (28-7, 13-5) in the Sweet 16 on Friday night. The Orange beat Michigan State in the Round of 32 while the Blue Devils easily dispatched Rhode Island.

Here’s what you need to know about the Blue Devils:

All-time series: Duke leads, 6-5

Last time they played: These two teams matched up on Feb. 24 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Duke came away with a 60-44 victory. The Orange was held to 31.5 percent from the field and missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts in the first half. Tyus Battle was Syracuse’s leading scorer with 12 points. Duke also struggled shooting the ball, missing its first 15 3-pointers.

The Duke Report: This team is loaded. All five of its starters average in double figures and the team is sixth in the country in scoring at 84.9 points per game. The Blue Devils are also fourth in rebound margin (+9.1), seventh in assists (17.8) and ninth in field goal percentage (49.6). Advanced metrics are also very favorable for Duke — It ranks third in adjusted offensive efficiency and first in offensive rebound percentage.

The Blue Devils also rank in ninth in adjusted defensive efficiency and Top 25 in limiting opponents two-point field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. Duke has run a few different defenses out, using primarily a zone against the Orange. It proved to be effective — Duke pushed out to ensure SU’s wings couldn’t shoot, and were able to recover to prevent scores from the inside.

Duke has a blend of experience, too. Two freshman big men, Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter, dominate the blocks. Senior guard Grayson Allen is the team’s second-leading scorer and was part of Duke’s 2015 national championship team. Four of the starters also shoot at least 38 percent from 3.

How Syracuse beats Duke: The Orange has used a similar formula in its first three ACC games — mucking the game up, suffocating opponents on defense and doing just enough on offense to win.

For the most part, Syracuse is going to need to follow a similar formula. The strength of the team is its defense, and it doesn’t have the firepower to get into a shootout with the Blue Devils. That being said, SU will need to score more than it has in the pat if it wants to beat Duke. Duke’s got a rock-solid defense that’ll frustrate the Orange, and if SU is once again held to fewer than 60 points, it might not be enough.

Stat to know: 26 percent

Opponents are shooting just 26 percent from deep against Syracuse over the last three games, a putrid mark that’s even worse than the already-low season average of 32 percent. Duke struggled from beyond the arc the last time these two teams met.

Kenpom odds: Kenpom gives Syracuse a 19 percent chance to win and predicts a 71-61 Duke victory.

Player to watch: Marvin Bagley, No. 35, forward

The star freshman was the ACC Player of the Year after he led the conference in scoring (22.5) and rebounds (11.5). He dominated SU inside the last time these two teams met, routinely going up for dunks that the Orange couldn’t stop. He’s ultra-athletic, and can also run fastbreaks by himself. SU’s frontcourt got into foul trouble against a big MSU front line. The same thing could happen against Bagley.

Published on March 22, 2018 at 4:33 pm

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