SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Michael Gbinije may never miss another shot.
The former Blue Devil is exacting some revenge against his old team, pouring in 19 points in the first half to help Syracuse to a 39-36 lead against No. 4 Duke at intermission Saturday night at the Carrier Dome.
The swingman knocked down four triples in the first 14 minutes—tying a season high—to stake his team a 27-18 lead. He did not cool off, splashing home another triple at the 3:20 mark to give his team an 11-point edge.
Both teams looked to get out and run in the first half, generating easy offense with long outlet passes. Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije converted difficult finishes around the rim and knocked down three early 3-pointers, but Quinn Cook attacked on the other end before the Orange could set up their vaunted 2-3 zone.
Cooney, Gbinije and center Rakeem Christmas entered the game accounting for more than 60 percent of Syracuse's offense. Even after Christmas picked up his second personal foul with 10:45 to play, the 6-foot-9 center remained in the game. He has proved a formidable opponent for Duke center Jahlil Okafor in the paint, at one point emphatically swatting the freshman's fade-away attempt out of bounds.
A big question coming into Saturday's contest was whether Duke—traditionally a man-to-man team led by head coach Mike Krzyzewski—would go zone against Syracuse and head coach Jim Boeheim.
Facing a 11-point hole, Duke rattled off eight quick points for an 8-2 run after the under-four media timeout. Cook sunk a triple on an in-bounds play, then pitched it ahead to Matt Jones for a transition bucket. The next time down, Jones and Winslow passed the ball back-and-forth until Winslow drilled an open trey.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Both teams got off to a sluggish start marked by early turnovers.
- Despite a recent switch to zone defense, the Blue Devils stuck to their man-to-man coverage in the opening 20 minutes.
- Cooney got off to a hot start, hitting a 3-pointer from the right wing after curling off a screen, then later drilled from the left side of the floor after an Okafor turnover. The senior finished the period with eight points.
- Grayson Allen hit a triple on his first shot of the night shortly after checking into the game.
- Last year's Duke team used Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood at the free throw line to pop the bubble in the middle of the Orange zone. Tonight, that task has mostly fallen to Justise Winslow, but the Houston native was not very effective. The Blue Devils got a momentary boost from Marshall Plumlee, who came in and attacked aggressively to draw the foul on Christmas, but struggled to finish inside for much of the half.
- Saturday night's game at the Carrier Dome is another sell-out, tying the largest crowd every to watch a basketball game on a college campus with 35,446 in attendance.
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