Duke Basketball: Keys for Blue Devils to beating Syracuse on the road
By Neil Adler
2. Beyond the arc is imperative
One of the most important facets of this affair is how each group does from the 3-point line. With that in mind, it’s feasible that downtown production could prove ugly.
That’s due to both the Orange and the Blue Devils residing toward the bottom of the ACC as it pertains to their shooting percentages from beyond the arc. While Duke and Syracuse each make between seven and eight 3-pointers per contest, they don’t connect at a high clip. Not even close to that, in fact.
Take, for example, the Jan. 14 meeting. The Orange’s vaunted 2-3 zone entices its foes to launch up attempt after attempt from long range, and usually many of those shots are strongly contested and difficult to make. Duke, in that game, managed 9-of-43 from 3-point range, which is about 21 percent. That’s terrible, and it’s a primary factor that led to the Blue Devils’ demise. With Williamson not playing, I imagine that Duke will heave up a decent amount of 3-pointers, and a larger percentage of them must go in if the Blue Devils want to prevail.
Syracuse is a streaky squad from downtown. On some occasions, it shoots lights out, like the initial instance against Duke, when the Orange went 11-of-25. But Syracuse lacks consistency. I could envision the Blue Devils zoning up on defense as well to force the Orange into an abundance of 3-point tries. Should that happen, Duke must efficiently contain redshirt sophomore forward Elijah Hughes and freshman guard Buddy Boeheim, both of whom can prove lethal from long distance.