Cooper Flagg had his moments, but the Duke defense stole the show in the Blue Devils’ 83-54 win over Syracuse on Wednesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Flagg, the Duke freshman who is the likely No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, scored a mere 11; nine under his average, but it hardly mattered as the No. 2 ranked Blue Devils overwhelmed Syracuse on the defensive end of the court.
Duke entered the game ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 60 points per game. On Wednesday, the Blue Devils’ defense stalled, stymied and stuffed the Orange’s offense.
Duke held Syracuse to a season-low 54 points on 38 percent field goal shooting. The Orange went 6-for-23 on 3-pointers. The Blue Devils also forced 14 Syracuse turnovers, resulting in a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers. Duke finished with a season-high 12 steals.
Syracuse’s previous season-low in points came in an 87-60 loss to Maryland on Dec. 21 in Brooklyn. The 29-point final margin was the largest margin of defeat for Syracuse this season. The Orange also lost by 29 points to Wake Forest last season.
Duke’s defense was so efficient that the Blue Devils committed just 13 fouls, resulting in four free throws for Syracuse for the entire game.
Syracuse forward Jyare Davis was the only Orange player who found any scoring success against Duke. The 6-7 senior scored 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting. JJ Starling also scored 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
The loss dropped Syracuse’s record to 10-13 for the season and 4-8 in the ACC.
Duke (20-2 overall, 12-0 ACC) extended its win streak to 16 games; the longest active streak in the nation. Duke’s 12-0 ACC record is the Blue Devils’ best start to conference play since going 14-0 in the 2007-08 season.
Former Syracuse player Maliq Brown made his return to the Dome. Brown, who spent his freshman and sophomore years at Syracuse, transferred to Duke last spring. Brown entered the game early in the first half to a chorus of boos. He immediately made his presence felt, displaying his knack for deflecting passes and flicking away the ball. He had three steals by halftime.
Brown wound up with six points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Flagg had a very quiet night in his Dome appearance. He attempted a season-low seven shots. His signature moment came on a thunderous slam dunk as he blew past Syracuse’s 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod midway through the second half.
Tyrese Proctor led five Duke players in double-figures with a game-high 16 points. Proctor went 4-for-10 from 3-point range.
Syracuse did its best to stay with the Blue Devils during the first half, but Duke slowly pulled away for a 37-23 halftime lead. Duke scored the last five points of the half for its biggest lead of the game to that point.
Duke’s defense, rated the third-best in the country, forced Syracuse into several low-percentage shots. The Orange went 10-for-28 (35 percent) from the field in the half. Syracuse also committed seven turnovers to just one for Duke.
Syracuse will return to the Dome on Saturday when it hosts Boston College.
Story by Mike Waters, syracuse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
