Duke Going For Their Fifth Straight Win As They Welcome Syracuse To Durham

Duke who has reeled off four straight wins will be looking for their fifth straight win when Syracuse visits Durham Saturday night.

Duke comes into their game with Syracuse riding a four -game win streak with a record of 23-5 while they're 11-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with  their most recent win coming Wednesday night against Louisville where Duke was yet again without Marvin Bagley who is recovering from a knee sprain  but Grayson Allen came alive yet again in his absence.

Grayson Allen took care of the scoring for No. 5 Duke. Everyone pitched in at the other end of the floor. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

A 2/3 zone -- of all things -- has the Blue Devils playing perhaps their best defense of the season."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

Allen scored 28 points and Duke held Louisville to a season-low point total in an 82-56 rout Wednesday night."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

Hall of Fame coach -- and noted man-to-man disciple -- Mike Krzyzewski says the zone defense works with this group because it gets his young players talking to and moving with each other. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

"We have length, and we have fairly good lateral movement from each kid," Krzyzewski said. "It may be that having an area allows this group to talk more than if they have a specific offensive situation and man. ... No question, we talk better, and Grayson's kind of able to lead us better." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

Louisville's previous scoring low was 57 points against Purdue, but interim coach David Padgett came away impressed by the Duke defense."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

"In a short period of time, they've turned it into a major defensive weapon," he said."according tohttp://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

Freshman big man Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 18 points and a season-high six assists, and Gary Trent Jr. had 11 points to help the Blue Devils (23-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their fourth straight game -- all coming with star freshman Marvin Bagley III out with a sprained knee."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

Ray Spalding scored 17 points, and V.J. King and Deng Adel had 10 apiece for Louisville (18-10, 8-7), playing for the first time since an NCAA panel upheld sanctions against the program in the wake of its embarrassing sex scandal -- which cost the school about $600,000 in tournament revenue, 123 victories and its most recent national championship."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

The Cardinals were taken out of this one early by a Duke team that shot 48 percent, hit nine 3-pointers -- with Allen responsible for six of those -- and pushed its lead into the 20s with a 26-6 run midway through the first half fueled by a pair of Allen 3s."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

"We kept at it. Early in the year, we got a lead and we got comfortable," Allen said. "Today, we made it a point to, if we get a lead, make it bigger.""according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

BIG PICTURE

Louisville: It's certainly been an eventful 48 hours for the Cardinals, with former coach Rick Pitino saying the school should consider legal action against the NCAA for making Louisville vacate its 2013 national championship. On the court, the Cardinals' two-game winning streak ended abruptly amid Allen's hot shooting and their own scoring struggles against that Duke zone. Now comes a trip to Virginia Tech, a home game against top-ranked Virginia and a season-ending visit to N.C. State."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

"We've just got to focus on what the goal at hand is," Padgett said. "We can't just say, `Oh, well, it's too tough. We're not going to try.' We've got to dig in and give it everything we have." "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

Duke: The Bagley saga figures to linger into a third week after the presumptive one-and-done freshman missed his fourth straight game with the injury he suffered Feb. 8 in the loss to North Carolina, and Krzyzewski says he's day-to-day."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

As was the case in each of the past three, the Blue Devils didn't need the ACC's top scorer and rebounder -- not with Allen reaching the 20-point mark for the third time in that stretch -- to remain a half-game ahead of the rival Tar Heels in the race to finish second to No. 1 Virginia in the conference race."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

STAR WATCH

Allen finished with his highest-scoring performance since he scored a career-best 37 points in the victory over No. 2 Michigan State in November. He finished 10 of 20 from the field and took 15 of his team's 26 3-point attempts."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

HIGHLIGHTS

Even some of Allen's missed 3s led to points for Duke. The prettiest play of this one came with about 9 minutes left in the half. Allen fired up a 3-pointer that bounced high off the iron, and Javin DeLaurier swooped in for a follow-up dunk that gave Duke a 23-15 lead. Two possessions later, DeLaurier followed up another missed 3 by Allen with a stickback dunk that pushed the lead into double figures for the first time."according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=211701785

Unlike Duke who won their last game, Syracuse got edged by North Carolina at the Carrier Dome Wednesday night  and comes into this game with a record 18-10 and 7-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Sophomore Tyus Battle, junior Frank Howard and freshman Oshae Brissett combined to score 66 points for Syracuse (18-10, 7-8 ACC) in its 78-74 loss to No. 10 North Carolina (22-7, 11-5 ACC) Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Battle posted 26 points and six assists, Howard recorded 23 points and Brissett compiled his 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Theo Pinson led the Tar Heels with 23 points, seven assists and six boards and Joel Berry II added 18 points."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

How it was Decided
Berry II stole the ball and finished on the other end to give North Carolina a 74-72 lead with 1:39 remaining and he sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining. "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Game Summary
North Carolina used an 11-2 run to take an early 19-7 lead. Marek Dolezaj made a layup, followed by back-to-back buckets from Battle, a Howard 3-pointer and two free throws from Battle to pull within three."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Five-straight points gave the Tar Heels a 28-20 lead with 5:08 remaining in the first half. North Carolina stretched its lead to 12, but Brissett drained a trey at the buzzer to send the Orange into the locker room down 41-32."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Two Battle free throws and a Howard jumper pulled Syracuse within three but the Tar Heels pushed their lead to 56-48 with 13:41 to play."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

With North Carolina clinging to a 68-59 lead, Howard scored five points to pull the Orange within four. The Tar Heels extended their lead back to eight and Syracuse responded with a dunk by Brissett, and six-straight points from Battle to tie the game at 74 with 3:07 to go."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Numbers of Note
North Carolina shot 29-of-65 (44.6 percent) from the field and Syracuse was 25-of-58 (43.1 percent) on the night. The Tar Heels held a 38-34 advantage on the glass and outscored the Orange 17-2 off the bench. Syracuse made 16-of-17 (94.1 percent) of its shots from the charity stripe."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

The game was played in front of an attendance of 27,165, the nation's largest on-campus crowd this season. The Orange now hold three of the top four on-campus attendance totals this year."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Paschal Chukwu finished with 11 rebounds and four blocks."according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Battle, Howard and Brissett each totaled 40 minutes on the night. Battle, who leads Division I in average minutes played, has now played 40 minutes in nine-straight contests.
ference after their most recent loss. "according to http://cuse.com/news/2018/2/21/mens-basketball-orange-edged-by-10-unc.aspx

Tip-off is set for 6:15pm from Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN. "according to http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&SPID=1845&SPSID=22726