Duke vs. Cuse in the Most Unexpected Game of the Year
Nothing quite like watching your most hated rival lose at home to get you to finally write another blog post.
Going into Monday night, I had very low expectations for Duke vs. Syracuse. I mean, Duke pulled out a huge road win at Florida State this past weekend, while Syracuse lost to an awful Georgia Tech team in the Carrier Dome. I told my wife Natalie that the Orange would score no more than 45 in Cameron.
In fact, I had gone out to play trivia with some friends, planning on casually watching hoops in the background. The bar was showing Pitt vs. Florida State (even when the Vols are ranked in the Top 5, Knoxville isn't exactly a basketball town), and I internally debated if it was even worth asking the waiter to switch the TV to ESPN.
Twenty minutes or so passed, and fully expecting a bloodbath, I checked my phone to see Duke only up two with 9 minutes left in the first half. Mildly intrigued, I requested for the game to be put on; but I've watched enough of Duke this season to know that when they're up two, they're basically up fifteen. However, I kept watching, and 'Cuse kept suffocating Duke down low with their 2-3 zone. When Zion Williamson wasn't dunking/laying it in, it seemed like the Blue Devils were settling for jumpers on every possession (the ESPN play by play more or less confirms it).
Then, Orange forward/American Hero Elijah Hughes (more like Elijah "Who?"ghes, because I had no idea he existed before tonight) hit a 3/4 court shot at the buzzer to bring Syracuse within one at the half.
"Could Duke actually lose at home??" I thought. After all, buzzer. beaters. are. the. worst. (I'm not linking you-know-what when you-know-who hit a shot over a Carolina big man. Or that other time it happened either.) They can suck all the momentum out of your team, even if it happens with twenty minutes still left to play.
*It also wasn't until halftime that I realized Blue Devils point guard Tre Jones had exited early in the game with a shoulder injury. Cue a victory for the talking heads who berate you with their not-so-original "yeah Zion Williamson is great. BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHO DUKE'S MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER IS. THAT'S TRE JONES!!!" takes.* Anyway...
As the next half started, it seemed like every bomb that Orange guards Tyus Battle and Frank Howard launched went in. It was unbelievable. For heaven's sake, even after dropping 95 points in Cameron, Syracuse's offense is still only ranked 76th on KenPom.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, every bomb that anyone other than Zion and Alex O'Connell launched did not go in. Duke maintained a lead for a sizable chunk of the second half, solely because of those two. Jack White, who has been frustratingly brilliant for Duke all year, shot 0-10 from three. Yes, ZERO FOR TEN. RJ Barrett shot 8-30 from the field, including 4 for 17 from three. (my hot take: he's Canadian Monta Ellis. It's just a joke, I promise). Syracuse big Paschal Chukwu, who has a very fun name to say, played phenomenal defense on Barrett in the paint. It was the first time all year I've seen the former #1 recruit miss layups on drives.
And Chukwu ended up being the guy who swung the game in multiple phases. A top-100 recruit in the class of 2014, Chukwu spent most of his career as a foul-prone big who protected the rim, but provided virtually nothing on offense. However, tonight he relentlessly attacked the glass, notching 9 offensive rebounds (18 overall), made clutch free throws, and made an errant shot look like an alley-oop that proved to be a dagger in overtime.
I know I'm such a homer, but the cherry on top of this upset was Coach K's predictable monotonous, self-righteous, excuse-ridden post-game press conference. While I don't think he'll ever top his "amazing" rant from 2016, I'll never grow tired of watching him whine.
Going into Monday night, I had very low expectations for Duke vs. Syracuse. I mean, Duke pulled out a huge road win at Florida State this past weekend, while Syracuse lost to an awful Georgia Tech team in the Carrier Dome. I told my wife Natalie that the Orange would score no more than 45 in Cameron.
In fact, I had gone out to play trivia with some friends, planning on casually watching hoops in the background. The bar was showing Pitt vs. Florida State (even when the Vols are ranked in the Top 5, Knoxville isn't exactly a basketball town), and I internally debated if it was even worth asking the waiter to switch the TV to ESPN.
Twenty minutes or so passed, and fully expecting a bloodbath, I checked my phone to see Duke only up two with 9 minutes left in the first half. Mildly intrigued, I requested for the game to be put on; but I've watched enough of Duke this season to know that when they're up two, they're basically up fifteen. However, I kept watching, and 'Cuse kept suffocating Duke down low with their 2-3 zone. When Zion Williamson wasn't dunking/laying it in, it seemed like the Blue Devils were settling for jumpers on every possession (the ESPN play by play more or less confirms it).
Then, Orange forward/American Hero Elijah Hughes (more like Elijah "Who?"ghes, because I had no idea he existed before tonight) hit a 3/4 court shot at the buzzer to bring Syracuse within one at the half.
"Could Duke actually lose at home??" I thought. After all, buzzer. beaters. are. the. worst. (I'm not linking you-know-what when you-know-who hit a shot over a Carolina big man. Or that other time it happened either.) They can suck all the momentum out of your team, even if it happens with twenty minutes still left to play.
*It also wasn't until halftime that I realized Blue Devils point guard Tre Jones had exited early in the game with a shoulder injury. Cue a victory for the talking heads who berate you with their not-so-original "yeah Zion Williamson is great. BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHO DUKE'S MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER IS. THAT'S TRE JONES!!!" takes.* Anyway...
As the next half started, it seemed like every bomb that Orange guards Tyus Battle and Frank Howard launched went in. It was unbelievable. For heaven's sake, even after dropping 95 points in Cameron, Syracuse's offense is still only ranked 76th on KenPom.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, every bomb that anyone other than Zion and Alex O'Connell launched did not go in. Duke maintained a lead for a sizable chunk of the second half, solely because of those two. Jack White, who has been frustratingly brilliant for Duke all year, shot 0-10 from three. Yes, ZERO FOR TEN. RJ Barrett shot 8-30 from the field, including 4 for 17 from three. (my hot take: he's Canadian Monta Ellis. It's just a joke, I promise). Syracuse big Paschal Chukwu, who has a very fun name to say, played phenomenal defense on Barrett in the paint. It was the first time all year I've seen the former #1 recruit miss layups on drives.
And Chukwu ended up being the guy who swung the game in multiple phases. A top-100 recruit in the class of 2014, Chukwu spent most of his career as a foul-prone big who protected the rim, but provided virtually nothing on offense. However, tonight he relentlessly attacked the glass, notching 9 offensive rebounds (18 overall), made clutch free throws, and made an errant shot look like an alley-oop that proved to be a dagger in overtime.
I know I'm such a homer, but the cherry on top of this upset was Coach K's predictable monotonous, self-righteous, excuse-ridden post-game press conference. While I don't think he'll ever top his "amazing" rant from 2016, I'll never grow tired of watching him whine.
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