Duke survives Syracuse scare, moves on to ACC semifinals

By Lauren Brownlow, WRALSportsFan columnist/reporter

Syracuse Orange	79
7Duke Blue Devils	88
Final

Duke (27-5) beat Syracuse (16-17) by an average of 22.5 points in two regular-season games this season, and that was with the ACC's leading scorer Buddy Boeheim in the lineup for the Orange.

But they don't play games on paper, and Duke got all it could handle from the short-handed Orange, surviving to get to the semifinals with an 88-79 win.

The way the game began for Duke, playing for the first time since losing Mike Krzyzewski's home finale against North Carolina, it looked like the Blue Devils would cruise. Duke made 9 of its first 18 shots and led by as many as 11 points in the first half.

Duke would make just 4 of its final 18 shot attempts of the half, though, and Syracuse would end the half on a 7-0 run to take a four-point lead into halftime. Joe Girard hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give him 18 first-half points.

Duke would shoot significantly better in the second half — 61.3% — but Syracuse hung in there somehow, even taking a 7-point lead with 16:34 remaining.

Syracuse was without Buddy Boeheim, who was suspended for punching Wyatt Wilkes in Syracuse's first-round win over Florida State. And then Syracuse's already-thin rotation took a hit with foul trouble.

Cole Swider picked up his fourth foul with 15 minutes to go.

Syracuse was up by six at that point, but Duke would go on an 8-0 run in Swider's two-minute absence to re-take the lead.

Syracuse wasn't done yet, of course ,and neither team led by more than five points for the next 11 minutes.

The Orange would take its final lead in the game on a Jimmy Boeheim layup with 3:32 to go before Duke closed out the game on a 10-0 run.

Duke shot 47.8% for the game and 11 of 32 (34.4%) from 3. Duke was 6 of 22 from 3 in the first half and 5 of 10 in the second.

Syracuse shot 40.3% for the game and just 36.1% in the first half, making 13 of 31 3-pointers.

Girard led the Orange with 28 points on 11 of 20 shooting and 6 of 9 from 3, but 18 of those came in the first half. Jimmy Boeheim had 23 on 7 of 17 shooting and Swider finished with 15 points, but it took him 15 shots to get there.

Wendell Moore led Duke with 26 points on 9 of 20 shooting, adding three rebounds and eight assists. Jeremy Roach had 19 points on 6 of 12 shooting (5 of 10 from 3) and Mark Williams had 15 and 16 rebounds. Trevor Keels added 14 points and Paolo Banchero had 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Duke will take on the winner of the game between 13-seed Boston College and 4-seed Miami.