The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (+175 to win the national title) have long circled the date of their rematch with the Syracuse Orange (+4,500) on their calendar. On Saturday, they will finally get their chance to avenge their loss to Jim Boeheim’s team last month. While the odds initially favored Duke to even the score with the Orange, EVERYTHING changed after Duke’s Zion Williamson went down with a knee injury just 33 seconds into the first half of this Wednesday’s meeting with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Will Syracuse show no mercy this Saturday and take full advantage of a Zion-less Blue Devil team? With the Syracuse program finding itself in the news after a more serious tragedy this Wednesday, perhaps not. Keep reading.
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Betting Preview for the Duke Blue Devils vs. Syracuse Orange College Basketball Game on February 23, 2019
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse
When: Saturday, February 23, 2019, 6:00 PM ET
Line: Duke Blue Devils (odds) vs. Syracuse Orange (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (23-3 Overall / 11-2 Conference)
This week is perhaps the most interesting in the regular season for Duke. For starters, was the highly anticipated rivalry showdown with the North Carolina Tar Heels, followed by this weekend’s rematch with the Orange.
As you probably know by now, Duke lost freshman superstar Zion Williamson to a knee injury within the first minute of the game against the Tar Heels. There’s been some conflicting and somewhat downplaying news from the Duke camp, but you can read between the lines:
“We’re very concerned about Zion. It’s a mild knee sprain. We will know about length of time tomorrow. It’s stable.” (Duke head coach, Mike Krzyzewski )
Yeah, Zion is gone. For how long we don’t yet know but he won’t be playing this weekend. Both R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish stepped up in Williamson’s absence, with Barrett putting in 33 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists on 11-of-22 shooting from the field, while Reddish added 27 points and three rebounds. The problem, is that no other Blue Devil scored more than six points. We know the loss of Williamson is shocking to the Duke program to say the least, but the squad will have to step up, and that needs to begin this Saturday.
Duke suffered its first loss in conference play at the hands of Syracuse, which beat the Blue Devils in Durham on Jan. 14, 95-91 (overtime). Since then, Duke has gone on a tear, winning all of their next nine outings, including last Saturday’s 94-78 victory at home over the NC State Wolfpack. Zion Williamson flexed his NBA-ready muscles (sans knee?) against the Wolfpack, scoring 32 points on 12-for-16 shooting from the field to go with six rebounds and three steals. RJ Barrett, meanwhile, had 23 points. Those two were a force of nature in the loss to Syracuse, with Williamson unloading 35 points while Barrett had 23. The Blue Devils didn’t have Cam Reddish in that game due to an injury, while Tre Jones played in only the first five minutes of the game before getting taken out due to an ailing shoulder. Both are ready to play this Saturday, but now they won’t have their 6’7″, 285 pound freshman phenom.
Duke is 6-3 ATS in road games this season.
Betting on the Syracuse Orange (18-8 Overall / 9-4 Conference)
Defense is the name of Orange’s game, but that wasn’t the case when Syracuse fell victim to NC State on the road, 73-58. Against the Wolfpack, Syracuse allowed its opponent to shoot 49.0 percent from the field and outscore the Orange in the second half by 17 points. On the flip side, the Orange’s offense was just as bad – if not worse. They shot just 35.0 percent and went an atrocious 5-for-25 from distance. They were out-rebounded by NC State, too, 42-31. One positive thing Syracuse can take away from that game was the fact that it had 10 steals. The Orange are 19th in the nation with 8.1 steals per game and second in the conference with 10.8 steal percentage. In addition to that, they are also tops in the ACC with an 18.3 block percentage.
But like with Duke, things got a lot more complicated on Wednesday February 20. Yes, Syracuse dismantled the Louisville Cardinals with a commanding 69-49 win and an impressive defensive performance they’re known for. But that night, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim struck and killed a pedestrian while driving on interstate 690. The accident was ruled as just that, as Boeheim was not under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the crash. There is no word about whether or not the head coach will be at the game this weekend.
In the first meeting with Duke, Syracuse had three steals and five blocks. Junior guard Tyus Battle flashed his form that has NBA scouts interested in, as he had 32 points on 12-for-28 shooting.
Syracuse is 4-1 ATS in its last five road games against the Blue Devils dating back to 2016.
Writer’s Prediction
Barrett, Reddish, and the team rally to a Duke win even without Zion, 79-67.
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