An on-campus record crowd of 35,462 watched as the Syracuse Orange lost to the Duke Blue Devils by a final score of 75-65. Here are my takeaways from the game: A moment for Jorge Jimenez A moment of silence was held in memory of Jorge Jimenez in the Carrier Dome before the game. As Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas opened the broadcast discussing the accident and offering their condolences you could see the emotion on the faces of Jim and Juli Boeheim as they were shown before the game. Chukwu Engaged on the Glass Pascal Chukwu was active around the rim from the opening tip. He had four offensive rebounds (and kept another possession alive) in the opening half and scored on two shots helping the Orange to a 34-29 halftime lead. Overall Syracuse finished with 19 offensive rebounds but the Blue Devils kept the Orange from converting those into points as the game wore on. Act One: The RJ Barrett Show With Zion Williamson in street clothes it was Barrett who stepped up. The Ontario native must have soaked up the #CanadasCollegeTeam vibes as he hit on 8 of 11 shots in the first half and ended the game with 30 points on 14 for 20 shooting to go along with seven assists. Barrett showed why he was rated the top recruit last year and his late 3-pointer stopped all of Syracuse’s momentum. Act Two: The Alex O’Connell Hour In the second half, Duke did a better job of penetrating the zone and it led to open looks for O’Connell who hit four threes in the first ten minutes of the second half and helped Duke push into the lead. O’Connell hit six of nine shots from the field on his way to a career high of 20 points. Dolezaj adds a spark off the bench Maybe it was the courtside presence of Rob Gronkowski that motivaed Marek Dolezaj to spike his 1st-half dunk but he provided Syracuse a lift off the bench and was aggressive looking for his offense. Marek had 10 points 5 rebounds and 3 steals before fouling out with less than two minutes to go. Where did the shooting go? In the first nineteen minutes of the second half, Syracuse failed to make a shot outside the lane. The Orange didn’t play great defense in the half, but the reality is that the offense is what led to the loss. After a strong first half, Frank Howard went scoreless in the second. Tyus Battle shot 4 for 17 for the game while being hounded by Tre Jones. Unfortunately for the Orange neither Oshae Brissett (3 for 13) nor Elijah Hughes (4 for 11) were able to get it going either. A disappointing result leaves the Orange seeking another key win to add to their NCAA resume. Syracuse will get that chance on Tuesday when they travel to face the North Carolina Tar Heels.<doc-sep>The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils will look to get back on track Saturday when they face the Syracuse Orange. The Blue Devils are coming off an 88-72 loss to the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels, and that’s not the worst of it. Star player Zion Williamson was diagnosed with a mild knee sprain after his shoe malfunctioned, and may be missing some time. Duke is 11-2 in conference action this season and 23-3 overall. One of its losses came against Syracuse, losing by just four points Freshman forward R.J. Barrett leads the team in points per game with 23.1, while freshman guard Tre Jones leads the team in assists per game with 5.4. Syracuse is fourth in the ACC standings with a conference record of 9-4 and 18-8 overall. The Orange defeated the Louisville Cardinals 69-49 in their most recent matchup. Junior guard Tyus Battle leads the team in points per game with 17.2 and sophmore forward Oshaw Brissett leads in rebounds per game with 7.9. The Orange are shooting 42.4 percent from field goal range and 32.4 percent from the three-point line. Here’s how to watch the matchup:<doc-sep>The Syracuse Orange (18-8, 9-4) are trending upward after a dominant 69-49 win over Louisville on Wednesday night. But next is a huge test against the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils. Duke is coming off a loss to UNC, and may not have the services of Zion Williamson. Still, they’re a formidable foe — much like they were last time around when Syracuse pulled off a 95-91 overtime upset down at Cameron Indoor. Saturday’s game gets started at 6 p.m. ET from the Carrier Dome. There will also be a TNIAAM meet-up at Wolff’s Biergarten starting at noon. As you know by now, College GameDay’s visit to campus has been cancelled, however. But who do we think is going to win? The TNIAAM staff weighs in on whether the Orange can score a second straight upset and virtually punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Matt McClusky Duke 77, Syracuse 68 Strictly looking at the basketball side of this game (which is nearly impossible right now), I think a fully healthy Duke is probably too much for Syracuse, even with a big crowd and having the Orange come off the big win. If Zion Williamson doesn’t play or is limited by minutes, then that changes things. Especially so in regard to the zone. If Syracuse can force the Blue Devils into shooting a bunch of three-pointers, then the Orange can win--and remember, the Devils have had their issues in making baskets from distance. If Zion is in and active, then Duke likely won’t shoot as many deep shots. This is going to be a different game for some many reasons, but I see the Orange making runs but ultimately coming up short. Kevin Wall Duke 78, Syracuse 73 People have had this game pegged since the Orange won in Cameron but honestly it’s importance is put in perspective now. Despite Zion’s injury Duke has the ability to pressure Syracuse’s ball handlers and ultimately I think the Orange commit too many turnovers leading to easy baskets. James Szuba Duke 75, Syracuse 65 I don’t know if there will be a harder prediction to make all season than this game between Syracuse and Duke. No artifice here, I’m completely making my best guess with the limited information we have. There are just too many unknown variables at this point to properly put your thumb on a situation and game such as this. We now know that Zion Williamson is out. But we still don’t know if Boeheim will coach and we certainly don’t know how the team will react following the incident on Wednesday night. I’ll say the Syracuse guys show some resolve, but ultimately Duke gets enough from RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones to earn the victory inside the Carrier Dome while one of Javin DeLaurier or Jack White (still hasn’t made a three since 0-10 shooting in Syracuse game) steps up. I don’t think this game will be as high scoring as the first go around, but look for the troika of Battle, Brissett and Hughes to build off of the Louisville game and score the ball in a losing effort. John Cassillo Duke 76, Syracuse 68 Zion’s not playing, but Duke’s still trotting out a lot of talent. With a couple days to prep for how the team will run without him (unlike what happened in the UNC game), I think they’re in a better spot to be ready for Syracuse on Saturday. There’s not necessarily a “revenge” factor at play following SU’s win in Durham, but the Blue Devils are anxious to erase the blowout loss to the Heels. They’ll attack the zone and at times manage to shoot right over it. The Orange keep up or a bit, but not enough to get the win. Poll Who will win the Syracuse vs. Duke game? This poll is closed 64% Syracuse, and we’re NCAA Tournament-bound barring some unforeseen calamity (478 votes) 35% Duke, and you didn’t really expect to beat them both times this year, did you? (259 votes) 737 votes total Vote Now Now it’s your turn...<doc-sep>
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse men’s basketball team opened as a 4.5-point underdog for its game on Saturday against No. 1 Duke, according to the website VegasInsider.com. The teams are set to meet at 6 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The game will draw the biggest on-campus crowd in college basketball history to the Carrier Dome but both teams have faced difficult circumstances heading into the game, with much of the local excitement for the game tempered by tragedy. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was involved in a fatal accident on Wednesday night that killed Jorge Jimenez, a 51-year-old who came to the United States from Cuba 20 years ago. Boeheim emerged from the accident “OK” physically but has said in a statement that he was “heartbroken” by Jimenez’s death. His friend, Adam Weitsman, has said this week that the coach is “devastated.” Boeheim met with the team but did not participate in practice on Thursday. He returned to his coaching duties on Friday and the school has announced that he will coach the game on Saturday. Duke (23-3, 11-2) will be playing without injured star Zion Williamson, the leading candidate to win the National Player of the Year Award. Williamson suffered a mild knee sprain on Wednesday, when his foot burst through his sneaker and he fell to the floor in a loss to North Carolina. Williamson is day-to-day but has been ruled out for the Syracuse game. While the loss of Williamson will hurt, the Blue Devils are still loaded with talent and three potential first-round draft picks. Forward R.J. Barrett leads the Blue Devils and the ACC in scoring at 23.1 points per game and is expected to be among the first players taken in next year’s NBA Draft. Shooting guard Cam Reddish also averages double-figures at 14.3 points and is Duke’s most frequent 3-point shooter. Point guard Tre Jones is one of the country’s best defenders. Syracuse (18-8, 9-4) won the first game between the teams 95-91 in overtime, although the Blue Devils played without Reddish and only got six minutes from Jones before he was injured. Williamson led Duke with 35 points and 10 rebounds in the first game, while Tyus Battle had 32 points for Syracuse. The Orange also got a career night from Paschal Chukwu (10 points, 18 rebounds) and a memorable full-court heave from Elijah Hughes. Syracuse held Duke to just 9-for-43 from behind the 3-point arc, another key to the win. What do you expect to happen on Saturday? Will the Orange pull off another upset? Or will Duke even the series at one? Contact Chris Carlson anytime: E-mail | Twitter | 315-412-1639 Follow Syracuse basketball on Twitter and Facebook