Syracuse Basketball: Previewing the Sweet 16 matchup with Duke

Syracuse basketball has won three straight games to reach the Sweet 16. This sets up an all-ACC matchup against Duke, the second meeting this year.

TV Schedule: Friday, March 23, 2018 on CBS at Approx. 9:37 p.m. EST

Arena: Omaha, Nebraska, CenturyLink Center

Syracuse and Duke will be doing battle for the second time in almost a month. The one and only meeting between the Orange and Blue Devils came at the end of February. It was the second of a three-game losing streak for Syracuse. The Orange lost by 14 and by the end of the month, they seemed to be dead. A nice win over Clemson to close out the regular season must have boosted their resume just enough.

This team went 1-1 in the ACC Tournament and reached the Big Dance. The Orange won the play-in game in Dayton over Arizona State. They entered the field of 64, defeated TCU, and then won a classic over Michigan State. Never bet against Jim Boeheim playing with house money in the NCAA Tournament.

The matchup on Friday will be the second game featuring Hall of Fame Coaches. In fact, there has only been one matchup in this Tournament between current Hall of Fame Coaches. First, there was Tom Izzo vs. Jim Boeheim. On Friday we will be treated to Boeheim vs. Mike Krzyzewski.

What’s going to make this game even better is that both teams play zone defense. Syracuse has always had their 2-3 set. The thing about the Orange this year is that they don’t always stay in the 2-3, though. They flash to a 1-3-1 and all sorts of other versions of a zone. That’s what has made them so difficult to score on this season.

Duke is a zone team now as well. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Don’t say it’s because they’re lazy. It just means that the young guys Coach K has coming in now feels more comfortable playing zone instead of man-to-man. Sure, catching onto playing a zone defense is a little easier than straight up man, but as long as they’re winning, it shouldn’t matter.

It’s not fair to compare previous matchups in the regular season to when the two teams meet in the Tournament. The NCAA Tournament is a different animal. We’re playing on a neutral court as opposed to either at Cameron Indoor or the Carrier Dome.

In the case of these teams, they met a month ago in Durham. The Blue Devils were riding very high and the Cameron Crazies were in full. Marvin Bagley III was still coming off the bench because of an injury. He and Wendell Carter Jr. were the only Duke players in double-figures. The last thing I’ll say about the previous matchup is that both teams really played outstanding defense. Duke just had more size.

Syracuse and Duke both have very shallow benches. That’s probably why this game is going to be closer than a lot think. It doesn’t matter who the players are when the coach is one of the best.

Jim Boeheim has had to deal with growing pains all season. He knew that the big three of Tyus Battle, Oshae Brissett, and Frank Howard were going to have to play a massive number of minutes. The only senior who was supposed to be relevant went down six games into the season, making matters worse.

This team is very slim as it is and they only play with two upperclassmen. Boeheim has to be pleased with the increase of production he received from Howard and the breakout freshman performance of Brissett.

Believe it or not, in this tournament, it hasn’t just been the big three. Battle can go off any night for big-time scoring. That hasn’t necessarily been the case in the past three games.

The freshman was the star in the first game. Brissett recorded a double-double and made three shots from downtown. The story of the next two games was Marek Dolezaj. Here’s another freshman who has played in every game and started 16 of them. He dropped 17 points and grabbed four boards against TCU. Against Michigan State, he only scored six points because of four fouls, but he hauled in six rebounds and blocked two shots.

Their defense has been as impressive as anyone else in the Tournament. Syracuse has yet to allow 60 points. The first two games weren’t surprising. The one against Michigan State gives the Orange much confidence. Their zone gave an 80-points per game offense fits. That offense features at least two future NBA players who have potential to be lottery picks.

Syracuse now runs into a similarly structured team. They have four excellent freshmen and a senior who has already won a National Championship. At least two of the freshmen could be lottery picks. Grayson Allen is capable of being selected there while the other guys have potential too later down the road.

Next: 16 facts for the Sweet 16

It sure has been a nice whirlwind of events for Syracuse. The Orange ended up in the Tournament after being disregarded by many bracketologists. They got in and did what every other Boeheim team does: lock down their defense and make a run. This is one of the youngest teams Syracuse has had in a while, but they’re playing great and the zone is better than ever at the most opportune time.