CHARLOTTE, N.C. — At Duke’s postgame press conference, a media member asked Zion Williamson how badly he’s wanted to be on the floor in the last couple of weeks. Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski jumped in.

“Forget about him,” Krzyzewski joked. “How badly I wanted him out there. Why is it always about you?” Krzyzewski posed to Williamson.

“I don’t know, ask them,” Williamson responded.

The freshman phenom made it very obvious on Thursday night. Williamson returned from injury to lead No. 3-seed Duke (27-5, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) past No. 6-seed Syracuse (20-13, 10-8) at the Spectrum Center, 84-72. Williamson finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds and five steals. He made all 13 of his field goal attempts, tying an ACC single-game record.

Williamson and Duke didn’t relent, but the Orange hung around all game after an early double-digit deficit, a promising sign, players said. That meant that after the game, in the locker room, Syracuse’s players were forced to grapple with a difficult balance: A loss set in contrast with positive signs with the NCAA Tournament coming up.

“We knew how great we played in the second half,” Oshae Brissett said. “And if (Battle) was there, he would’ve had way more than 12 points. We look at that as a positive.”

Williamson’s presence in the first two Syracuse-Duke games led to the opposite result than anticipated. His 35-point, 10-rebound performance at home wasn’t enough to prevent an SU upset. And his absence in the second meeting didn’t stop the Blue Devils from exacting revenge.

In Williamson’s first game back from a knee injury suffered on Feb. 20, the ACC Player and Freshman of the Year made the difference one would expect. SU head coach Jim Boeheim has said he’s never seen a player like Williamson, and Thursday, Syracuse had no answer for such a unique talent.

“I’ve seen a lot of great players, I’m not saying he’s better than those guys, but he’s a different player,” Boeheim said. “He can do things that nobody has done in this game.”

Williamson dunked. He finished through contact. He even swished a 3 from the left wing in the first half. Going into the break, the potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick had 21 points and nine rebounds to go along with five steals.

Alexandra Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer

It looked like Williamson and Duke would run away with it in the first half. But Frank Howard brought Syracuse back with 10-straight Orange points in the last four minutes. He hit a floater, an elbow jumper and two 3s.

For more than nine first-half minutes, the Orange trailed by double digits. But when Buddy Boeheim drained a 3 inside of a minute to play in the first half, it brought SU within six.

---

---

“Playing against a guy like (Williamson), it’s hard to stop,” Buddy said. “And no matter what you do, he’s gonna score. I think there’s a lot of good things we can take away from that. And just to fight back was huge and showed a lot about what we can do.”

Syracuse has shown what players call “fight,” this season. About a month ago, Elijah Hughes said that the Orange were still searching for a basketball identity. But it had “heart.” SU often chopped into second-half deficits through short runs. Against the Blue Devils, that’s what happened.

Syracuse carried over its late first-half surge with an early Howard jumper. The Orange, even without Battle for the second-straight night, were in the game. Buddy, coming off a career-night, hit a right-corner 3 to bring the Orange within one with over 13 minutes remaining. Then, Buddy curled off a screen to drain a right-wing 3 moments later and tie it at 46.

Howard kept coming, making shots right down to a 3 near the final buzzer to finish with a career-high 28 points. He knew he’d have to be more aggressive without Battle, and he was.

“Around this time of the year I finally got my body right to feel comfortable to attack, and that’s just what I’ve been trying to do,” Howard said.

---

More coverage 

• The Final Word: Beat writer’s discuss Syracuse’s ACC Tournament loss to Duke
• Frank Howard, Jim Boeheim insist Howard’s trip of Zion Williamson was unintentional
• Syracuse’s ACC Tournament run ends, Zion Williamson’s return and more takeaways from SU’s 84-72 loss to Duke

---

For a postseason, rubber-match game against a Duke team that Syracuse fans want to be a rival, Thursday’s game didn’t mean a whole lot. The Orange were without their star. And the game didn’t have any implications on SU’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament, either. But Syracuse’s players have never been happy after a loss.

“It sucks right now, losing the game like that, knowing that you had a chance,” Buddy said. “But I think just to come back in the first half against the best team in the country, I think, was huge for us.”

The Orange believe that each and every game, they can compete with anyone. That’s what they did Thursday. In the end, Williamson and the Blue Devils were too good. But that won’t stop the Orange from feeling they can play well against any opponent.

“The fighting thing will never get out,” Marek Dolezaj said. “… Next game, we will fight 40 minutes. It’s really hard to beat us.”

Published on March 14, 2019 at 11:34 pm

Contact Billy: [email protected] | @Wheyen3