Syracuse Basketball: Top 5 things to know vs Duke in ACC Tournament

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 14: Elijah Hughes #33 and Bourama Sidibe #34 of the Syracuse Orange defend Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 14, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Syracuse basketball has a monumental challenge in front of them in the form of the Duke Blue Devils. Here are the 5 things you need to know before tip-off.

So I’ve got good news and bad news Syracuse basketball fans. We’ll start off with the good news: the Orange are 100 percent in the tournament. With their win over Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC Tournament, all the doubt has been expelled from the mind.

The bad news? Duke is SU’s next opponent. The Blue Devils normally in any circumstance would be a near impossible task, but they just got a huge boost with the news that Zion Williamson has been medically cleared to return to action Thursday night.

While for Syracuse they will be without the services of star Tyus Battle after a nasty fall he suffered late in the Clemson game. If the Orange want to beat Duke for a second time they’ll need a heroic performance and for Duke to slip up to have a legitimate chance.

To get a better view of this Duke team in the third round of the ACC Tournament, we spoke with Ball Durham Site Expert Kevin Connelly. He provided us the five things we need to know ahead of this Blue Devils matchup.

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