Syracuse was downed by Notre Dame, 79-69, on Wednesday night. Here are some quick thoughts from the game:
- It is impossible to think the Orange were playing on anything other than legs that were almost completely shot by the end of the game. Symir Torrence and Bourama Sidibe were effective at times later in the game in large part just because they were fresh.
- Joe Girard III struggled all night, looking like he had flat legs throughout the game. He made just one shot, a pull-up jumper off two dribbles from the right elbow, and sat out the final 11:59 of the game. For the second time this season, Girard did not make a three-pointer in a game.
- Jimmy Boeheim had 15 first-half points for the second straight game. Unlike Monday against Georgia Tech, he was able to produce well in the second half, making 5-of-9 shots and grabbing all seven of his rebounds after the break.
- SU committed seven turnovers in the game, but six of them came in the second half.
- In the last five games, Frank Anselem has averaged 8.4 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per game. He also has seven blocked shots in that span.
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NEXT UP
The Orange will return home to close the season series with #7 Duke on Saturday night. It will also be the last time Mike Krzyzewski leads the Blue Devils (24-4, 14-3) into Syracuse to match wits with his friend, Jim Boeheim.
Duke got the better of things in the first matchup, jumping all over SU early en route to a 79-59 home win just over a month ago. Four different Blue Devils scored 15 points in the game, including Paolo Banchero, who also grabbed 13 rebounds, and A.J. Griffin, who hit five threes for all of his scoring. Jimmy Boeheim and Jesse Edwards led the Orange with a dozen points apiece.
Banchero paces Duke in scoring (16.6 pts/game) and rebounding (8.3 reb/game) while Wendell Moore, Trevor Keels, and Mark Williams all average double digits in scoring. Griffin is tops on the Blue Devil roster with 50 three-pointers and has made 48.1 percent of his shots from deep.
Saturday’s tip-off is set for 6:00pm Eastern and ESPN will handle television responsibilities.
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