Preview: Syracuse vs Duke For Spot in Elite Eight

Its Blue vs Orange as the Duke Blue Devils and Syracuse Orange will be battling it out for a spot in the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils are a 89.4% favorite over the Orange. Going into the NCAA Tournament, Syracuse was placed an 11 seed, while, Duke a two seed.

Offense vs Defense

Duke

To open up tournament play, Duke smashed Iona 89-67. In the round of 32, Duke had another impressive showing against 7th seeded Rhode Island, where the Devils won 87-62.

Duke Blue Devils head basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski, says while their offense has been dominant, they can’t just rely on it when facing Syracuse.

One of the reasons for their offense being so explosive is Marvin Bagley III. who leads the team in scoring and averages 21 points a game with a .613 field goal percentage and a .622 free throw percentage. Bagley admits that Syracuse will be the toughest obstacle they’ve faced so far this tournament.

Syracuse

Syracuse beat 6th seed TCU 57-52 in the Round of 64. They showed a strong defense throughout the game with 25 defensive rebounds and six steals. In another close one, Syracuse narrowly beat 3rd seed Michigan State 55-53 in the round of 32.

Syracuse scores on average 67 points per game and will need to step up their shooting game while facing Duke who on average scores 85 points per game. They will look to Oshae Brissett who averages nine assists a game.

Game Time

Tipoff tonight is set for 9:37 on CBS or you can listen to live coverage of the game on Country 107.3 The Gator.