The Syracuse basketball squad pulled off a shocking upset at No. 1 Duke on Monday evening, perhaps saving SU’s 2018-19 season.
The SU hoops outfit, coming off a woeful home loss this past Saturday to Georgia Tech, scratched and clawed its way to a 95-91 overtime conquest of No. 1 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
Such a typical ‘Cuse thing to do. Get smacked at the Carrier Dome by the Yellow Jackets, a formidable defensive unit that struggles to score, then head out on the road as a 17-point underdog to the Blue Devils and prevail.
I can’t overstate how much this success means to the Orange (12-5, 3-1). A pedestrian non-conference performance, coupled with the most-recent setback to GT, likely had most college-basketball pundits projecting Syracuse as presently outside the field of 68 for the Big Dance.
For SU to earn a March Madness at-large invite, it has to notch some impressive results in Atlantic Coast Conference competition, including the besting of nationally ranked crews, as well as wins away from Central New York.
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The ‘Cuse checked both of those boxes on Monday night before a ridiculously boisterous and hostile crowd. In all fairness, Duke (14-2, 3-1) didn’t have freshman forward Cam Reddish in the rotation, and freshman guard Tre Jones only played a handful of minutes before unfortunately getting injured.
Even so, the Blue Devils’ two other freshmen sensations, forwards Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, produced 35 points and 23 points, respectively. What hurt Duke in this duel is an inability to connect from downtown, as the Blue Devils shot a putrid 20 percent.
On the other hand, the Orange had a spectacular showing from beyond the arc, going 11-of-25, good for 44 percent. Junior wing Tyus Battle led the way with 32 points. Redshirt sophomore forward Elijah Hughes had 20 points, and senior point guard Frank Howard chipped in 16 points.
But my game ball, without question, goes to senior center Paschal Chukwu, who tallied 10 points and 18 rebounds. He also hit a few key free-throws down the stretch.
Just an unbelievable, high-octane encounter between these two ACC programs. Early in the first half, Duke raced out to a 14-2 edge, and I figured that this contest would amount to blow-out city for the Blue Devils.
When Jones, one of the best defenders in the country, had to leave, it changed the complexion of this affair. Syracuse, behind some hot shooting, climbed back into the contest and only trailed by one at halftime, as Hughes nailed a ridiculous 75-footer right before intermission.
Duke held an advantage of up to eight points for a sizable portion of the second stanza, but SU simply hung around. Battle even had an opportunity to nab the victory in the final seconds of regulation. In the extra session, the ‘Cuse tightened up in the 2-3 zone, and the Blue Devils went cold.
This may sound corny, but I’m really proud of Syracuse. The players could have easily thrown in the towel after falling in bad fashion to the Yellow Jackets, then having an awful beginning at Duke. Instead, they fought and fought and fought.
And, ultimately, they got rewarded. What’s vital here is to keep the positive momentum going, with an upstart Pittsburgh group traveling to the Hill this Saturday.