Next Up - Syracuse

Don’t think this couldn’t end in an upset.

Next up for Duke is a trip to Syracuse and that hasn’t always been the easiest road trip.

Syracuse is just 10-12 and this season has been a struggle. Nonetheless, this has the look of a classic trap game.

For one, playing in the Dome is an adjustment for shooters, which gives Syracuse an inherent advantage.

For another, Duke is coming off of an emotional win over UNC. It’s not that it wasn’t an easy win - obviously it was - but even so, that game generates a huge amount of emotion and it’s not at all uncommon for either team to lose the following game.

On top of that, the Blue Devils have a huge game on Saturday as the Blue Devils will visit Clemson and the winner of that game is in the driver’s seat for the ACC regular season championship.

Assuming of course that the Blue Devils beat Syracuse and Clemson tops Georgia Tech.

Duke is going to be favored obviously, but the Orange could be dangerous.

First, Eddie Lampkin is the sort of big man who has given Khaman Maluach some trouble. At 6-11 and 265, he’s beefy enough to give Maluach trouble inside and to possibly get him into some foul trouble. And while his scoring average, at 10 ppg, is average (so is Maluach’s), he’s getting nine rebounds a game.

We haven't watched enough to get a fell for Jyare Davis, but he’s a 6-7 senior transfer from Delaware who has been solid and obviously he’s experienced.

However, he wouldn’t be starting if Donnie Freeman hadn’t injured his leg. He’s been out since early January. Could he be back? We haven’t seen anything about it, but he was listed as questionable at Cal this weekend, so he might play.

One-time Duke target JJ Starling will play though, and he’s potentially trouble. At 6-4, he matches up well with Duke’s perimeter defenders. He’s going to make All-ACC at some level. Starling is averaging 17.9 ppg, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Elijah Moore and Lucas Taylor were the other starters on Saturday.

Taylor is an interesting story. A native of Raleigh, he started at Wake Forest, barely played for two years, then left for Georgia State, where he significantly raised his profile. This year he’s at Syracuse and obviously playing well enough to start periodically (Adrian Autry has changed his lineup quite often this year).

Moore is a freshman and he could turn out: he had 24 against Tennessee earlier and 16 against Maryland. However, at 6-4 and 175, he’s pretty thin. We’d keep an eye on him.

Jaquan Carlos has been a regular in the lineup though not a constant. He leads Syracuse with 3.7 apg. Just 6-0, he’s a senior who spent his first three years at Hofstra.

Chris Bell has also moved in and out. He has previously described himself as the best shooter in the ACC. The stats don’t bear him out - he’s shooting 40.4 percent overall and 32.9 percent on threes. He has moved in and out of the lineup, partly because his offense has been erratic. However, he is 6-7 and could explode. At 195 though, the junior is quite thin.

And don’t forget that the only player in the ACC that’s taller than Maluach is 7-4 Naheem McLeod and he plays for the ‘Cuse.

He’s never been a huge factor, but he is huge and much stronger than Maluach. Keep that in mind.

There are a few other things to keep in mind for this game. First, for Syracuse, Duke has replaced its old Big East rivals. The Orange hasn’t really kept its end of the deal in that lately, but the fire is there, especially with the fans.

Then there’s the little matter of Maliq Brown.

Losing him to Duke was a double blow for Syracuse. First, he’s an outstanding defender and he had an amazing game in Durham last year. And second, he’s with Duke now. They’re not going to like that very much.

On the other hand of course, he knows Autry’s schemes and predilections and that can’t hurt.

We’re sure that Syracuse noted that Duke’s slump in the second half against Carolina Saturday started when Hubert Davis called for a 2-3 zone. When he was promoted to replace Jim Boeheim, Autry said that he preferred man-to-man but he has used the zone a bit this year and it won’t surprise us if he does on Wednesday.

Random thought: don’t you know Jim Boeheim would love this Duke roster for his 2-3 zone? It’d be very difficult to score against.

There have been some games where Isaiah Evans’s slender build worked against him but Syracuse’s roster has some similarly built guys and if they go to zone, he might be the difference.

In fact, once you get past Lampkin and McLeod, this team is strikingly thin. Davis is 6-7 and 220, but nine guys weigh less than 200 lbs and they’re not all guards.

For the ‘Cuse, the challenge is the same as it has been for all Duke opponents: how to deal with Cooper Flagg.

As his game continues to unfold, the accolades are pouring in. Jay Bilas said this on ESPN before the UNC game:“I think he’s the most advanced freshman in every facet of the game that Duke’s had, and they’ve had some unbelievable freshmen here. I’m not saying he’s the most talented, there’s Jayson Tatum, Kyrie [Irving]. … There have been some great freshmen here, but what he’s doing on a competitive level — he’s the most competitive freshman I’ve seen.

“It’s hard to quantify that, because a lot of players are really competitive. It’s just on a different level with him.”

Dick Vitale also raves, tweeting this during the UNC game: “All I can say in 45 years at ESPN I have not seen a player as young as Cooper Flagg so skilled–he is in his own World–he is THAT GOOD!”

Some people saw that and thought that Vitale was saying that he’s better than, well, a lot of people: Tim Duncan. Kevin Garnett. Michael Jordan.

Only that’s not what he said. The operative word is young, and we believe there’s only one player in college right now younger than Flagg. It’s perfectly fair to say that we’ve never seen a freshman dominate in college the way Flagg has. Patrick Ewing was incredibly intimidating as a freshman, but he didn’t have the full package of skills that Flagg does. Not many do even after four years in school.

There were a few other things we noticed Saturday too. For one, Kon Knueppel realized that he was bigger and stronger than most of his defenders and he was happy to take them to the basket. He may be able to do that at Syracuse too since so many of their players are quite thin.

We also noticed that Maluach is increasingly confident on offense. He put up a left-handed shot and did it quickly too. The uncertainty around the basket is fading.

And we also noticed - who could miss it? - how much of an impact Brown had. It’s true that Duke didn’t lose while he was out and it’s also true that Patrick Ngongba did a really nice job filling in. However, Ngongba and Brown are very different players and while he did a fine job filling in, no one on this team can do what Brown does on defense.

To wrap it up, obviously Duke is going to be favored, but there are a number of variables that will favor Syracuse. In short, don’t count your Oranges before they’re peeled.