5 Excellent Ways Syracuse Can Beat Duke In the NCAA Sweet 16
Syracuse University Basketball is back in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after beating Michigan State in a regional final game in Detroit.
Orange coach Jim Boeheim's vaunted 2-3 zone defense did the job again, reducing a 30-win team to shambles. Next up: a date with Boeheim's old friend/nemesis Mike Krzyzewski and his 28-7 Duke Blue Devils. Here's five ways the Orange could knock off Duke Friday night in Omaha:
1. Hassle 'em with the 2-3 zone. No one expects the same results the defense produced against Michigan State, which converted an embarrassing 25% of its shots, but a reasonable facsimile would be nice.
2. Do a better job on the boards. The Orange were out-rebounded 51-30 by Michigan State, but the Spartans just kept missing and missing and missing. Duke is far more efficient at converting second chances on the inside.
3. Win the free throw battle again. They outscored Michigan State 24-11 in foul shots and may need to rely on that again.
4. Goad Grayson Allen into doing something stupid. Duke's senior star has gotten into trouble numerous times during his college career for tripping opponents. Without Allen, Duke wouldn't have as good a shot--literally and figuratively.
5. Asteroid Wipes Out Duke. If there's any day this headline could happen, it would be this Friday, March 23rd, which is National Near Miss Day, commemorating the day in 1989 when a mountain-sized asteroid missed Earth by a relatively close 500,000 miles.
The game's available on our sister station, 96.9 WOUR, The Rock of Central New York.