Duke Edges Syracuse, Advances To The Elite Eight

The first two rounds in the NCAA Tournament against Iona and Rhode Island were easy wins for second seeded Duke but not so on Friday night as they faced an opponent they're familiar with in   Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Syracuse who was the eleventh seed and who  they routed back on February 24th in Durham in their only regular season meeting. 

The  NCAA Tournament matchup between the two teams though  was a different story but the same outcome happened as Duke this time got by Syracuse  and advanced to the Elite Eight.

All that talk about busted brackets and the maddest March ever -- not happening in the Midwest. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

What started as a chess match turned into a free-throw-shooting contest. When it was over, Duke won. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Grayson Allen and Gary Trent Jr., made four clutch free throws down the stretch to help Duke hold off Syracuse 69-65 and land the Blue Devils in a 1 vs. 2 regional final against Kansas."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

"A great game to win, a very difficult game to lose," Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Freshman Marvin Bagley III scored 22 points to help Krzyzewski's second-seeded Blue Devils (29-7) pull away from Jim Boeheim's Orange -- the last at-large team to make it into the field, and one looking for a near-repeat of two seasons ago when it made the Final Four as a 10 seed."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

This year, Syracuse (23-14) was an 11, but in an NCAA Tournament turned upside down, the Elite Eight already has one of those -- Loyola-Chicago in the South."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Syracuse is no typical 11, and this was a zone-centric battle of wits between two of the most renowned coaches in the game.

No lead ever reached double digits, and not until Trent Jr. swished two from the line with 6.3 seconds left was the game sealed for Duke, which is one win away from taking Krzyzewski to his record 13th Final Four. He currently shares the record of 12 with John Wooden.

Early in the second half, Krzyzewski did something Wooden never would've dreamed of: He tore off his jacket and threw it to the floor, calling a timeout after Syracuse scored two quick baskets to trim its deficit to three."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

"It set the tone for me," said Coach K, who has two freshmen, Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr., who will likely be NBA lottery picks later this spring. "You could see. I coach `em, so I could see, they were real young. They had young looks. Thank goodness they got out of it." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The teams went back and forth, trading alley-oop dunks and 3-pointers until the end-game played out with 21 seconds left."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Syracuse fouled Allen, who went to the line for a 1-and-1 and calmly sank both to push the lead to 67-62. Syracuse scored, then fouled Allen again, and he missed the front end. Leading by three, Duke intentionally fouled Tyus Battle, who made only one of his two free throws to cut the deficit to two with 7 seconds left."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Syracuse closed by fouling Trent Jr., who sealed it by improving to 33 of 34 from the line in the last five minutes of games this season. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

"I thought coming into this game Duke was playing at a tremendously high level," Boeheim said. "We started out playing as well offensively as we have in a long time. We hit a little dead spot at the end of the first half that we couldn't quite come back from." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Bagley III scored 13 of his 22 points and had all eight of his rebounds in the second half. Seven of those boards were on the offensive end and led to second-chance baskets. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

"We turned the ball over a little too much in the first half," said Battle, who led the Orange with 19 points. "We got it together in the second half and took care of the ball a little better, moved the ball better and got it into the middle." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

BIG PICTURE

Syracuse's 2/3 zone causes problems for almost every opponent, but Duke found holes, throwing lobs behind big men in the middle for layups and dunks. Meanwhile, Allen was quick to shoot the 3 in the second half. All but one of his 15 attempts from the floor were from 3. He went 3 for 14 from behind the arc and finished with 15 points. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

UP NEXT

Syracuse: Even if Battle declares for the NBA draft as an underclassman, the Orange probably returns everyone else in their seven-man rotation, and they bring in a top-20 recruiting class that includes two top-50 prospects. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Duke: The Blue Devils have won three of five all-time meetings against Kansas in the tournament, most recently in the 2003 Sweet 16."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211707427&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Duke will return to action Sunday when they play Kansas in the Elite Eight in Omaha.