Even if you include recent seasons – which have tarnished Izzo’s reputation a little with early losses to Syracuse, Kansas and Middle Tennessee – the Spartans’ coach still gets longer tournament runs out of his teams than we’d expect based on their talent. (41.7 percent) and Grayson Allen (38.3 percent) leading the way. When he scores 10 or more points, Syracuse is 6-0 this season. Now the Orange will go from middle-of-the-road in the ACC, to one of the contenders for a conference title.
Advertisement
Carsen Edwards led Purdue with 30 points, including four 3-pointers. But what I have seen from the Blue Devils so far this season has persuaded me on one thing: It’s Duke’s tournament to lose.
Catch Syracuse’s Sweet Sixteen game against Duke on WAER this Friday, with Countdown to Tipoff starting at 9:00, only on 88.3 FM. The 2016 national champions led 68-64 before scoring 10 of the next 14 points to pull away.
The Orange won the half on the boards, out-rebounding the Blue Devils 19-12, but they coughed up 12 turnovers to Duke’s five. He said Syracuse junior center Paschal Chukwu steps up when the ball goes to the middle/high-post area.
Duke dispatched Rhode Island with almost as much ease as they did Iona, its first-round opponent. I’m picking the Blue Devils in this matchup and as a Syracuse alumnus, I hope that jinxes Duke on Friday. Both Duke and Syracuse play the now highly discussed 2-3 zone.
“We have preparation to play a zone against everybody, obviously, but as far as trying to execute against the zone, and the zone that’s as long as Syracuse’s is, it’s hard to actually prepare for that”. We used it one time and we won a game in Madrid, against Spain, a big-time game.
The game opened up in the second half. The Blue Devils won the first matchup 60-44 on February 24 at home.
Kansas point guard Devonte Graham said having Azubuike in the lineup and playing at nearly 100 percent makes a major difference. “They’ve changed and we’ve changed”.
“Nobody can say we’ve played our best game yet”, he said, smiling.
“For us it’s defense every night”, Syracuse guard Tyus Battle said.
“It makes everything easier for us”, Graham said. It will likely play the entire game against Syracuse in a 2-3 scheme.
No. 2 seed Duke (28-7) advanced after blowing out Iona and Rhode Island. Assists-Syracuse 12 (Battle, Howard 5), Duke 13 (Allen 8). Let us know below.
They are Bill Self’s worst team. Both teams didn’t exactly do that effectively in the conventional manner. The Orange have been the underdog in all three games.
This undermanned team, which included just seven available scholarship players, had silenced its critics and rewritten its legacy with three straight defensive efforts. “He makes big plays”. In the Orange’s three NCAA Tournament wins, the totals have landed on 116, 109, and 108 points. “He does such a great job with them”.
Duke is 53-5 SU in its last 58 games as a double-digit favorite.
Neither team has anyone new players listed on the injury report for tonight’s game.
Advertisement
Duke is 3-3 in its last 6 regional semifinal games going back to 2009.
