Syracuse - Duke NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Preview
0 Comments Published on 3.23.2018 by Brian Harrison
Syracuse students agree: There isn't much more satisfaction to be had than beating Duke.
Syracuse did the unthinkable by winning three games in the NCAA Tournament in five days, including beating a fairly decent favorite to reach the Final Four, Michigan State. And now, it only gets harder as Syracuse will take on familiar foe Duke in the Sweet 16. In the one game Syracuse played against Duke at Duke this year, Syracuse was able to hold Duke to 60 points, seemingly the magic number for the Orange in this Tournament. The problem, however, was that Syracuse only scored 44 in that game. The good news is that Duke was held to 2-18 from long range, and Grayson Allen (who doesn't seem to be a good person) was 0-6 from distance. I think the Syracuse defense will be up for the task of stopping Allen, and getting on the shooters. SU has done that all tournament so I'm honestly not worried about it. What I am worried about, is foul trouble with the bigs, and guarding Marvin Bagley III. But really, the defense will do it's job. The issue is can Syracuse score more. Syracuse only made 6-25 against Duke previously. Syracuse needs to get about 8 three pointers, but also limit turnovers to single digits, and get some steals of their own. Battle, Howard, and Brissett will do their part. Syracuse needs some offense (or at least attention from the defense) from Dolezaj. And if Chukwu can stay out of foul trouble, I think Syracuse has a pretty good shot in this game. Syracuse is in the Sweet 16, and everything is gravy right now. But after 2016, and the way Syracuse has been so far in this Tournament, we all don't want it to end quite yet, along with getting some revenge on a conference rival. I had Syracuse's road ending against Michigan State, so my pick is basically invalid on this one, but I'm going to take Syracuse in another nail biter by 2. This game is available nationally on CBS at approximately 9:37pm, and streaming on March Madness on Demand. I'll be out watching the game with some fellow friends and alumni. John will also be watching. If this is the end, Syracuse had one hell of a season undermanned and light on respect when it came to this Tournament. But Syracuse has overachieved again. Jim Boeheim has put in another example of why he's a phenomenal in game coach. This team plays hard, and I can't be made at where we all ended up. But if they win, my god, what fun and possibilities await. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Duke, NCAA Tournament, Preview, We Hate Duke
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