Jahlil Okafor is for real. Duke’s fabulous freshman showed no ill-effects of the sprained ankle which had him sidelined for a game as his career night rescued the Blue Devils from a costly defeat. Duke will now take its eight-game winning streak back home to face the inconsistent but dangerous Syracuse Orange hoping to start a winning streak of their own.
Can the Orange crush Duke’s hope of a No. 1 seed in the tournament? Find out more as we break down the much-anticipated rematch between these two storied programs.
No. 1 Kentucky is writing its own amazzing story as the Wildcats continue their quest for an undefeated season. Check out our preview of Arkansas vs. Kentucky.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Syracuse Orange vs. Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
When: Saturday, February 28, 2015 9:00 PM ET
Line: Syracuse Orange at Duke Blue Devils – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Syracuse Orange
The Syracuse Orange (18-10, 9-6 ACC) have been the definition of up-and-down during conference play. Since winning their first four conference games, the Orange have gone 5-6 (3-7-1 against the spread) and have failed to string together back-to-back wins.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]However, Syracuse has raised its game in recent battles against ranked opposition. The Orange overcame No. 12 Louisville (69-59) at the Carrier Dome last week, and outdueled No. 9 Notre Dame (65-60) on the road earlier this week.
Senior Rakeem Christmas (18 points and nine rebounds per game this season) had a near-perfect night against Louisville with 29 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field and 11-of-13 from the line. Meanwhile, BJ Johnson came out of nowhere to score 19 points against the Irish.
Christmas shot just 5-of-17 from the field in Cuse’s close 80-72 loss to Duke on Valentine’s Day, but Michael Gbinije and Tyler Roberson combined to score 46 points on 18-of-28 shooting. Syracuse’s length with Christmas, Gbinije, Roberson and Johnson (all are 6-7 or taller) should be a handful against the undersized lineup Duke has been using in recent games.
But to beat Duke at Cameron Indoor, the Orange will need to get some decent production from their backcourt. Trevor Cooney, the team’s second leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, had been shooting just 30 percent in his last seven games before knocking down 5-of-11 shots for 11 points against Notre Dame.
With March Madness just around the corner, get ready for all the tourney’s knockout matchups by creating a betting account with America’s top sportsbook.
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils
Welcome back, Jahlil Okafor. After sitting out Duke’s (25-3, 12-3 ACC) comfortable 78-56 home win over Clemson on Saturday because of a sprained ankle, the sensational freshman dropped a career-high 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting (72 percent) to save Duke’s blushes in a 91-86 overtime win against second-to-last-place Virginia Tech. Duke has now won eight straight games, but is just 4-4 against the spread.
Even with Okafor back against Virginia Tech, head coach Mike Krzyzewski opted to stick with the small-ball lineup which worked very well in Okafor’s absence against Clemson. Duke’s offense was terrific, shooting 59 percent from the field and hitting 10-of-23 from three. Senior Quinn Cook dropped 26 more points, his third game of 26 points or more in his last five games.
But the defense also allowed the Hokies to shoot 53 percent, including a sizzling 12-of-22 (54 percent) from beyond the arc. It was an uncharacteristically bad performance from Duke, which had been limiting ACC opponents to just under six made threes per game (third in the ACC).
Expect Coach K to stick with his small-ball lineup against Syracuse. Duke also played small at the Carrier Dome, but it still won the rebounding battle, 42-32, and held the Syracuse guards to 6-of-21 shooting. Okafor solved the famous Syracuse zone defense by the second half of that game, hitting all seven of his shots en route to 23 points and 13 rebounds while playing solid defense on Christmas.
Duke’s superior offense at home should also make up for any defensive lapse it may experience against Syracuse. Duke is averaging 87.4 points per game at home, the second-most in college basketball, and 14 points more than its average on the road.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke outduels Syracuse one more time as the Blue Devils win and cover at home.
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