Barn Burner in Durham: Syracuse Knocks Off No. 20 Duke 64-62

Story and photos by Lindsey Horsting

DURHAM, N.C. – In a game that came down to a battle of wills, Syracuse junior forward Tyler Roberson stood out as his Orange team beat the No. 20 Duke Blue Devils 64-62, Monday night. 

The win marked a third consecutive ACC win for Syracuse and the second consecutive road win. It was Duke's third straight loss and second in a row at home.

It was a tight game all the way as the teams battled in the noisy, sold-out matchbox gym that is Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim was happy to see improvement in his team’s play.

“Our defense is getting better these three games, our rebounding is getting better and our defense it getting better and that’s what you need,” he said.

Roberson was all over the boards and logged his third consecutive double-double with 14 points and 20 rebounds.

“He went after it the whole game,” Boeheim said.  “He was always getting a different piece of it, grabbing it and throwing it down.”

The 20 rebounds were the key to the win, Syracuse freshman forward Malachi Richardson said.

“T-Ro played his butt off,” Richardson said. “That really opened up the game for us and it helped us out on the offensive end as well because those rebounds turned into points for us, especially kick-outs for threes.”

Syracuse (13-7, 3-4 ACC) exposed the Blue Devils' flaw, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

“Roberson’s terrific,” he said.  “We got a lot of offensive rebounds, but that’s a weakness for us with the four perimeter guys.”

Duke (14-5, 3-3 ACC) had dropped from No. 9 to No. 20 in the AP rankings this week, coming off back-to-back losses to Clemson and Notre Dame. 

 

First Half

The first two minutes of the game were scoreless.  Richardson hit the first bucket at 17:33.  Roberson got involved with two points putting the Orange up 5-0.  Junior guard Matt Jones scored the Blue Devils' first points on a three with 14:14 left in the half.

Duke got back in the game playing tough defense and had its first lead 10-9 with 11:35 remaining.

The Blue Devils had difficulty penetrating the Syracuse zone in the first half and settled for outside shots, going 3-for-16 shooting beyond the arc with six minutes remaining in the first half.  But sophomore guard Grayson Allen caught fire and went on a 9-0 scoring run to give the Blue Devils the lead 29-26. 

Seven-foot graduate student center Marshall Plumlee and Allen led all scorers at the half with nine points each.  Plumlee was a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line and 2-for-2 from the field.
 

Second Half

At the beginning of the second half Syracuse and Duke traded buckets.  Then the  Orange went on an 8-0 run with a two by Richardson followed by back-to-back threes by Cooney and Richardson.

Syracuse took the lead 43-41 with 11:40 remaining in the game.  Roberson and graduate guard Michael Gbinije used a pick-and-roll play designed to get Gbinije to the hoop that proved to be effective.  Roberson continued to rebound but would take no credit for his personal success.

“We did a great job as a team and I think that’s where it started,” he said.  “The momentum picked up I was able to get some rebounds and some easy points.”

Nothing in the Cameron Indoor Stadium is easy.

 

Duke repeatedly maneuvered into the middle of the Orange zone defense in the second half to score, but Syracuse held the lead the last eight minutes of the game. It was 61-53 with 4:55 left when Duke made its final push. But the Blue Devils had six team fouls with 1:28 left and Syracuse had three fouls to give before putting Duke at the free throw line. 

Duke fed Plumlee the ball on the block with Syracuse freshman forward Tyler Lydon on his back.  Plumlee, who had dominated under the basket all game, worked a spin move into a reverse layup to bring the Blue Devils within one point with 0:29 remaining in the game.

Syracuse used two fouls to run out some of the clock and keep the Blue Devils from scoring.  Still the Blue Devils had a chance to win but Allen Grayson missed on a drive and in the ensuing scramble Richardson came up with the ball and was fouled by Duke freshman guard Derryck Thornton.

Richardson hit the first of the one-and-one but missed the second.  Duke junior guard Matt Jones grabbed the rebound with :02 remaining, dribbled and put up a half court shot as time ran out, flailing as he let it go.  The crowd went wild shouting at the officials for a foul call. It did not come.

Krzyzewski was frustrated with the outcome.

“When you lose, it makes you appreciate even more what you’ve done and it should make you hungrier to win again,” he said.

This is Duke’s fourth loss of the season by one possession.

Notables

Plumlee led all scorers with 19 points and 17 rebounds.  Allen had 18 points and Duke freshman forward Brandon Ingram scored 13 points and had 11 boards.

Syracuse had four players in double figures.  Roberson, Richardson, Gbinije, and graduate guard Trevor Cooney each tallied 14 points.

Syracuse out-rebounded Duke 49-42 with Syracuse collecting 26 offensive boards to Duke's 18.

On the Road Again

Syracuse has four days off before travelling to Charlottesville, Virginia to play Virginia Saturday Jan 23 at noon in John Paul Jones Arena.

Duke travels across town to Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack Saturday Jan 23 at 2 p.m. in PNC Arena.