Syracuse Basketball: Keys for Orange to beat Duke at home

2. Efficiency on the offensive end from Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett

Defense will prove to be the most important factor in this game for Syracuse, however, to compete with Duke’s superstars, there will need to be a consistent scoring threat for the Orange. There’ve been plenty of players stepping up to the mark on different occasions this year – the likes of Elijah Hughes and Buddy Boeheim come to mind. But, to clinch a win from a fired up Blue Devil side, the two offensive stars from last year, and Syracuse’s star players, will need to step it up a gear.

Tyus Battle has already shown that he’s capable of continuing as the number one scoring option for the rest of his time with the Orange. He’s averaging a healthy 17.2 PPG as the offensive leader of this team. His performance in North Carolina remains one of the greatest for ‘Cuse this year, and he’ll likely need the same sort of thing to happen if they were to go 2-0 against the Blue Devils on Saturday.

Syracuse can’t just expect a 30+ point game to happen for Battle, he’ll need help, and this help needs to come from forward Oshae Brissett, who had a great 2018, but hasn’t quite stepped up to another level this year. He’s averaging 13.2 ppg and 7.9 rpg. Hughes has taken over as the second option at many times this year, but, the Orange will need Brissett to pick up some of the work on the offensive end of the floor and help Battle try to put another dagger in Duke’s season. Efficient shots will be the most important thing, offensively for Syracuse.