Syracuse basketball puts its two-game winning streak on the line when it heads to Durham, N.C., to battle No. 4 Duke on Monday evening.
It's a quick turnaround for the Orange, which knocked off SMU at home by one point this past Saturday afternoon, after beating California in double overtime at the JMA Wireless Dome last Wednesday night.
The Blue Devils, though, present a much bigger challenge. They are the Atlantic Coast Conference's best team, they have the likely national player of the year this season, and their only two setbacks are by a combined four points to a pair of ranked foes. Plus, in recent years, Duke has owned the Orange.
Anything can happen on any given day or night, but the 'Cuse will have to play a near-perfect game and hope that the Blue Devils are way off to upset Duke inside the frenetic Cameron Indoor Stadium.
How to watch Syracuse basketball at No. 4 Duke on Monday evening.
The Orange and the Blue Devils are scheduled to tip off at 7:00 pm EST on Monday, Feb. 16, with television coverage on ESPN. In their all-time series together, the 'Cuse is just 6-17 against the Blue Devils, and Duke has won 10 straight over Syracuse basketball. The Orange, perhaps, does have a small glimmer of hope, as SU has won twice over the years in Durham.
The Blue Devils sit atop the ACC and are eyeing a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Duke has quality victories over teams such as Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan State, Louisville (twice), SMU and Clemson, among others. The Blue Devils have fallen by one point to Texas Tech and by three points to in-state nemesis North Carolina.
At the time of this writing, Duke was No. 2 in the NCAA NET rankings, as compared to No. 69 for the Orange. This is a quadrant-one opportunity for the 'Cuse. The Blue Devils are also No. 2 via KenPom, where Syracuse basketball is No. 69.
Duke is a well-balanced team, scoring 82.2 points per game and giving up just 63.1 points. The Blue Devils average 39.6 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 8.1 steals, 3.5 blocks and 11.0 turnovers per contest while making 49.6 percent from the field, 71.7 percent from the free-throw line and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Duke players to keep an eye on include freshman big man Cameron Boozer, who will likely be the national player of the year for the 2025-26 season. The 6-foot-9 Boozer averages 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.
Another is former Syracuse basketball power forward Maliq Brown, who, in a key reserve role for the Blue Devils, averages 4.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per encounter.
The Orange scores 76.5 points per affair and allows 72.2 points. The 'Cuse also averages 35.0 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.7 steals, 6.3 blocks and 11.2 turnovers per game while connecting on 47.3 percent from the field, 63.8 percent from the charity stripe and 33.3 percent from 3-point land.