HALFTIME: Duke 26, Syracuse 26

For the second straight game, the Blue Devils fell behind early as Syracuse jumped out to a 17-8 largely due to five Duke turnovers in the first nine minutes. Duke had a tough time knocking down shots against Jim Boeheim's famous 2-3 zone out of the gates but recovered to shoot 41.7 percent in the first 20 minutes. A 3-pointer in transition by Jabari Parker cut the deficit to 19-16, but the Orange responded with four straight points to end the Blue Devil run. Parker had the ball stripped multiple times down low, committing four turnovers in the first half. But seven points by Rodney Hood kept the Blue Devils close, as the redshirt sophomore drove aggressively the rim.

Observations from the first half:

• Marshall Plumlee heard his name called early off the bench, and gave the Blue Devils instant production. Plumlee had 4 points, including a tip-dunk, before the under-16 media timeout. Initially tentative to turn around and face the basket when fed the ball in the high post, the redshirt sophomore grabbed five rebounds and denied Jerami Grant a dunk at the rim with an emphatic swat.
• Andre Dawkins was called to an intentional foul for grabbing Michael Gbinije's jersey. The guard made both free throws and leads the Orange with eight points in his first game back in Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2011-12.
• Duke continued to struggle from behind the arc in the first half, missing six of their first seven. The Blue Devils made 15 triples in the 91-89 overtime loss Feb. 1 at the Carrier Dome.
• The Blue Devils have put a wide range of threats in the high post against the Syracuse zone. Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee have been primarily looking to pass back to spotting-up guards, but Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker have looked more for the drive to the basket.
• Free-throw shooting is again proving problematic for Duke—they're just 3-of-9 so far after going 7-of-12 in Chapel Hill.