Syracuse Basketball: Key narratives for SU’s duel with Duke

The Syracuse basketball squad put together an inspired effort in knocking off Pittsburgh, and now the Orange is set to face mighty Duke.

Since my head-coaching skills are widely known as remarkable and without any peers, I have a strategy to implement for the Syracuse basketball team. Start each contest without playing the first 20 minutes, and concede a halftime lead to every SU opponent. Sound good?

Kidding aside, in recent bouts against highly rated Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia, as well as on the road at Clemson, the ‘Cuse went into the break with an advantage and then fell apart after intermission. Well, on Wednesday evening in the ACC Tournament’s second round, Syracuse (20-12) found itself down by six points to Pittsburgh (14-19) going into the locker room. To make matters worse, star junior wing Tyus Battle couldn’t compete. Cause for concern? Nah.

Although the bevy of Orange Nation undeniably had a bad feeling about the prospects for SU, the No. 6 seed, to conquer the Panthers, the No. 14 seed, what transpired in the second half left me extremely proud of this slightly depleted roster. The ‘Cuse totally flummoxed Pitt in its vaunted 2-3 zone, and the Orange line-up, minus Battle, absolutely stepped up to the plate and crushed its foe in the remaining 20 minutes by a count of 43-23.

Performances from freshman guard Buddy Boeheim, redshirt sophomore forward Elijah Hughes, senior point guard Frank Howard and senior center Paschal Chukwu proved positively tremendous. In besting the Panthers, I’m wholeheartedly confident that Syracuse has clinched a bid to March Madness in accumulating its inaugural neutral-court achievement of the 2018-19 campaign. As a further reward, if you can call it that, SU will square off with No. 3 seed and fifth-ranked Duke (26-5) on Thursday night in an epic ACC tourney quarterfinal at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

While nothing is 100 percent at this juncture, Battle probably will not see action versus the Blue Devils, and Duke’s phenomenal freshman forward, Zion Williamson, is expected to suit up after missing a handful of affairs. So that’s a huge edge for the Blue Devils, a crew that split its regular-season series with the ‘Cuse.

To no one’s surprise, odds-makers in Las Vegas are anointing Duke as a roughly 11.5-point favorite. I’m in no way a pessimistic person, however, I can’t see a scenario where the Orange prevails, given Battle’s absence. To have any chance whatsoever, Syracuse will have to connect on an abundance of 3-pointers and at a high percentage.

With Williamson in tow, Duke becomes much more formidable in the paint, and the SU zone will have to clog the middle with unbelievable efficiency. Not only that but defensive rebounding, an ongoing weakness for the ‘Cuse, is a critical component of this encounter. The Orange’s trio of centers is likely to experience foul trouble, so ticky-tacky fouls have to get avoided at all costs.

Moreover, Syracuse’s guards and forwards, including sophomore Oshae Brissett, have to drive the lane with aggression, which could result in Williamson and other Blue Devils studs generating their own foul issues. When Duke beat SU at the Carrier Dome in late February, Blue Devils freshman forward RJ Barrett tallied 30 points on 70-percent shooting from the field. That can’t happen again.

Duke isn’t super strong from beyond the arc, and the Orange defense has to force the Blue Devils into tightly challenged looks from long range. If those attempts are consistently off the mark, perhaps the ‘Cuse can keep things close. Syracuse possesses house money in this match-up. It should have fun and play loose. The real deal begins next week.