Syracuse men’s basketball vs Duke: TNIAAM predictions and poll

The Syracuse Orange surprised everyone with the blowout win over the Florida State Seminoles yesterday. Now they get a shot at the top-seed Duke Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinal in Brooklyn. Duke won the two previous meetings going away so do we think the Orange have a chance to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive?

Kevin

Duke 83, Syracuse 71

While I think Jim Boeheim will give the Duke offense a different look in this one, I don’t think the Orange have enough to pull off the upset. Syracuse will need to take care of the ball and hope Duke can’t find the range from deep if they want to keep this close. It’ll be a long afternoon if Mark Williams is allowed to dominate inside as he did in the Dome.

Michael

Duke 88, Syracuse 61

This was already going to be a longshot, and without Buddy Boeheim in the lineup, Syracuse will need a miracle to hang with Duke. Considering how many contested deep shots the Blue Devils made during their last matchup with the Orange, this one ought to once again be over by halftime. Flip the script from yesterday.

Szuba

Duke 91, Syracuse 65

Hard to think Syracuse has any real shot here unless Cole Swider and Joe Girard catch lightning in a bottle from outside. Duke is too talented and too strong defensively to let an offensive performance like Wednesday’s against Florida State happen for Syracuse. The Blue Devils have had no issues slicing up the 2-3 zone this season and with Paolo Banchero operating in the middle with Mark Williams as a lob threat and AJ Griffin on the perimeter, an angry Duke team looking to avenge the North Carolina loss won’t have trouble scoring against a short-handed Syracuse team. Duke in a rout.