Syracuse Basketball: Orange, Duke both surging at exactly the right time

Syracuse basketball and its next opponent, those Duke Blue Devils, each come into their Atlantic Coast Conference showdown on Monday night having won three in a row.

The ‘Cuse (13-6, 7-5) and Duke (10-8, 8-6) are both on the outside looking in as it relates to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and the 2020-21 regular season is winding down. Needless to say, this is a vital duel for these two teams as they jockey for better positioning in the ACC standings.

At this juncture, the middle of the league race is a bit of a jumbled mess, with numerous squads in the hunt for a top-four to top-six placement in the conference, including the Orange and the Blue Devils.

A key difference in resumes between Syracuse basketball and Duke is that the Blue Devils have pivotal quadrant-one victories, and the ‘Cuse does not. That could change on Monday evening should the Orange prevail.

Through games on Feb. 20, Syracuse basketball is No. 46 in the NET ratings, while the Blue Devils are No. 55. The ‘Cuse has proven stellar inside the Carrier Dome, with an 11-1 mark there, but the Orange is a sub-par 2-5 outside of Central New York.

Not only does Syracuse basketball need to pick up some quadrant-one triumphs, but it could also use a few additional road successes to bolster its case for dancing in March.

Syracuse basketball will face a Duke group that is playing quite well of late.

Over the weekend, the ‘Cuse came back from a 20-point deficit in the second half to shock Notre Dame on the Hill. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, upset a top-10 Virginia crew on their own turf.

All-time, Syracuse basketball is 6-10 against Duke, although that record does feature two achievements in Durham, N.C., since the ‘Cuse became an ACC member in 2013-14, according to orangehoops.org.

Syracuse basketball and the Blue Devils are slated to tip-off at 7 pm from the historic Cameron Indoor Stadium, and there is some drama heading into this affair, given the recent firestorm over comments made by ‘Cuse head coach Jim Boeheim about Duke freshman forward Jalen Johnson.

Last week, Johnson said that he would opt-out of the remainder of the 2020-21 term to prepare for the upcoming NBA Draft. Analysts say that Johnson is a potential lottery pick.

As of Sunday afternoon, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index says that the Blue Devils possess a 60.5 percent chance to win against Syracuse basketball.

This pair of squads are among the higher-scoring units in the ACC, with the Orange averaging 76.5 points a game, as compared to 75.6 points for Duke. Neither is exceptional on defense.

Both teams collect 15.4 assists per meeting, and other statistical categories like blocks, steals, points allowed, rebounding, turnovers committed and field-goal shooting percentage are relatively even.

The Blue Devils, at 35.9 percent, shoot at a higher clip from beyond the arc. Conversely, Syracuse basketball has the edge at the charity stripe, hitting on an exceptional 79.7 percent.

The ‘Cuse and Duke have gone toe to toe in several nail-biting contests at Cameron Indoor Stadium in recent years, and let’s hope that the Orange can maintain its positive momentum in this encounter.