“We have to come in tomorrow and get the game plan for Syracuse and try to wipe this one off," redshirt sophomore forward Rodney Hood said. "A really good team is coming in and we have to be ready.”
Although Syracuse (25-1, 12-1 in the ACC) has the advantage of some extra rest, having played its last game on Tuesday, the Orange are also coming off of a tough loss. For the third consecutive game, Syracuse needed a shot at the buzzer to keep its perfect record in tact. Point guard Tyler Ennis answered the call against then-No. 25 Pittsburgh and forward C.J. Fair was up to the task against N.C. State, but the shots wouldn't fall for the Orange against Boston College, as their perfect record was shattered with a 62-59 overtime loss. With a loss under its belt, Syracuse can look forward to playing against another team that pushed it to the limit—Duke.
“I don’t think I’ve been involved in a better game in here that I can remember, where both teams played at just a high level," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said following his team's Feb. 1 overtime win against the Blue Devils. "You can have close games, and exciting games, but I don’t think I’ve seen a game where there are two really good defensive teams and its 91-89. Both teams just went after it. I can’t say enough about the quality of this game."
To turn things around and get back in the win column, Duke (21-6, 10-4) will need to stay out of foul trouble—something that has haunted the Blue Devils in a number of their losses. Jabari Parker and Tyler Thornton both fouled out in a loss to Kansas on Nov. 12. Thornton was disqualified against Arizona Nov. 29. In Duke's first meeting with the Orange, Parker, Amile Jefferson and Andre Dawkins all fouled out. No Duke player was disqualified against North Carolina, but Parker, Jefferson, Thornton, Hood and Marshall Plumlee all played with four fouls late in the second half.
“I have to stop getting so many silly fouls in the first half," Hood said after picking up four fouls for the fifth time in his last eight games. "They kind of hurt us defensively—hurt me defensively—not being able to be as physical as I am. It’s just how the game is called, and we have to play through adversity.”
Despite coming off a loss and facing the nation's top team, Duke has reasons for confidence. The Blue Devils are riding a 30-game win streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium—a venue that is sure to rival the Carrier Dome despite being just a fraction of the size. Point guard Quinn Cook seems to finally be out of his funk after scoring 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting against North Carolina. Parker has scored 15-plus points in seven straight, grabbing at least eight rebounds in each of those contests. Duke also can enter this game with the confidence of knowing it can score against Syracuse's smothering zone defense after pouring in 89 points against the Orange in a hostile environment.
With neither Duke nor Syracuse keen on enduring its first two-game losing streak of the season, the table is set for another invigorating game in what is becoming one of college basketball's best new rivalries.
“I learned one thing—the way they play against us, when we go down there we’re going to have to have an unbelievable night,” Boeheim said.
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