In Act I, there was the Rasheed Sulaimon shot at the buzzer. Then, the Rodney Hood dunk attempt gone awry with no whistle forthcoming.
Act II gave Hood his redemption, sliding in front of a driving C.J. Fair with 10.4 seconds left and drawing a charge call to wave off a potential three-point play that could've given the Orange the lead. Instead, it sent a furious Jim Boeheim to the locker room early.
Two games does not a rivalry make. But if Saturday’s 6 p.m. tilt at the Carrier Dome between No. 4 Duke and Syracuse is anything like the first two editions, things may be heading in that direction.
“Playing up there, it was one of the best environments I’ve been a part of,” assistant coach Jon Scheyer said. “It’s a big place—[our freshmen] have never played in a dome before. You come to Duke to play in games like this, where there’s 35,000 people screaming at you.”
Familiarity may breed contempt, but many of the faces that took the floor Feb. 1, 2014 at the Carrier Dome won’t be around for the third installment. Of the nine double-figure scorers in that contest, only two—Amile Jefferson and Trevor Cooney—will return to the floor Saturday.
The Blue Devils (21-3, 8-3 in the ACC) put away No. 10 Notre Dame 90-60 Saturday but struggled to close out Georgia Tech and Florida State—teams near the bottom of the conference standings—in the past week. Duke was held scoreless for the first six minutes Monday in Tallahassee, Fla., and survived a 12-2 Seminole run late to claim a 73-70 road win.
“Florida State is always a great defensive team. They’re long, they’re physical, they’ll get out in those passing lanes,” Scheyer said. “I think that knocked us back a little bit, and then I don’t think we came out in the mindset of attacking like we needed to.”
Spurred by a boost from redshirt junior Marshall Plumlee, the Blue Devils absorbed the Seminoles’ early blow and got back to playing aggressively. Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones combined to score 42 points—Jones also racked up a career-best 12 assists—and overcome the sluggish start.
Duke may have been up and down in its last three games, but Syracuse (16-8, 7-4) has been mercurial all season long. With no wins against ranked teams and a few bad losses, Saturday’s game would have been a must-have for the Orange’s NCAA tournament hopes, but the program self-imposed a postseason ban Feb. 4 amid an NCAA investigation into potential violations self-reported by the university.
In the first matchup against Syracuse last season, Duke was able to solve Boeheim’s trademark 2-3 zone by sticking Parker and Hood at the high post. As capable jump shooters, the Orange had to respect them at the free throw line, which opened up Andre Dawkins, Tyler Thornton and others around the perimeter. Duke hit 15 triples in that game—none more important than Sulaimon’s pull-up 3-pointer at the end of regulation to tie the game—but still wound up on the wrong end of a 91-89 overtime contest.
Orange big man Rakeem Christmas was utilized mainly as a defensive stopper in his first three years at Syracuse, never scoring more than 5.8 points per game, but has exploded on the offensive end this season. The 6-foot-9 senior is actually putting up better numbers than Duke standout Jahlil Okafor, as he averages 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.
The freshman from Chicago is nearly turning in a double-double on a nightly basis with 18.0 points and 9.1 boards but will be challenged by the length of Christmas, who ranks second in the ACC with 2.4 blocks per game.
“[Christmas is] very physical inside and of course he protects their basket,” Scheyer said. “Offensively, he’s a load. We need to do our work early and not allow him to catch it, because if he catches it, he’s going to score on you. He’s really improved from last year to this year.”
With point guard Tyler Ennis and forwards Jerami Grant and Fair all leaving town for the NBA after last year, Christmas and Duke transfer Michael Gbinije have stepped up to help Cooney—a 3-point specialist who can heat up in a hurry—in the scoring department. Together, that trio accounts for 64.8 percent of Syracuse’s offensive production.
Gbinije played just 14.6 minutes per game last season but has seen that figure rise by nearly 20 minutes in 2014-15. The redshirt junior has responded well, posting 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists for Boeheim’s squad.
“It’s a little different because I wasn’t here when he was here, but of course I know him, just being a former player,” Scheyer said. “[Playing against a former Blue Devil is] a little unusual, sure, but I think at this point it’s a couple years removed, so it feels more natural now.”
With Hood having left to play in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, somebody else could find themselves in a do-or-die situation Saturday. With four starters averaging double-figures, Duke has no shortage of options with the game on the line.
As a true freshman, Jones has played the role of hero multiple times this season, stealing the show down the stretch against Michigan State, Wisconsin and Virginia. Cook has been at his best in close games as well.
“Trust me, I wish Rodney was here for these games, and I would feel really good about us if we still had Rodney,” Scheyer said. “Hopefully we still have some great moments even though he’s not here. Both of those games I’ll never forget the plays that he made and the opportunities that he had.”
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