Syracuse Basketball: Predictions for monumental Duke matchup

Neil Adler (11-5)
Prediction: Duke wins 85-67

The Syracuse basketball squad, which just saw its momentum-building victory streak halted, travels to Durham, N.C., on Monday night for an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown with No. 1 Duke. SU (11-5, 2-1), which had seemingly turned the corner after succeeding four times in a row, fell way too in love with attempts from downtown in a crushing 14-point home loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday evening.

The ‘Cuse got dominated inside by the Yellow Jackets and also committed far too many turnovers. So now the Orange arrives at the famed Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Blue Devils (14-1, 3-0). ESPN is televising this juicy encounter, and I’m merely praying that our beloved Orange doesn’t get absolutely destroyed by Duke.

The Blue Devils, led by their four phenomenal freshmen, have won on nine-consecutive instances. During its most-recent time out, on Saturday afternoon, Duke scored a last-second conquest of nationally ranked Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla. The Blue Devils are an offensive juggernaut, averaging about 90 points a game, while connecting on roughly 50 percent from the field. In looking at various statistical categories, Duke holds the edge over Syracuse in virtually every department, save for free-throw shooting and turnovers committed.

ESPN.com’s match-up predictor says that the Blue Devils possess a 92.2 percent chance of prevailing. I wish that SU had beaten GT to keep its good times rolling for a tad longer, because there is really no way that I can see the ‘Cuse besting Duke on the road. In fact, I unfortunately expect a blow-out. The Blue Devils handle the Orange, 85-67.