SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 2 Duke never trailed en route to an 83-54 victory at Syracuse on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The Blue Devils (20-2, 12-0 ACC) used double-digit scoring performances from five players and scored a season-high 23 points off turnovers to help extend their winning streak to 16 games.
Tyrese Proctor poured in a game-high 16 points, highlighted by four three-pointers, and was joined in double-figures by Kon Knueppel (12), Cooper Flagg (11), Isaiah Evans (10) and Sion James (10). Maliq Brown reeled in a game-high eight rebounds, while also tallying six points, three steals, one assist and one block. Evans and James both dished a team-high four dimes, as Evans set a new career high for assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A quick layup from Kon Knueppel started Duke’s scoring less than 10 seconds into the contest. The Blue Devils held Syracuse to a scoring drought of nearly four minutes and the two teams were knotted at 4 entering the first media timeout. Knueppel scored six of Duke’s first eight points, as the Blue Devils doubled up the Orange, 8-4, with just over 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
- Cooper Flagg scored his first points with a three-pointer, extending Duke’s lead to four, 11-7, at the 13:39 mark. Isaiah Evans and Tyrese Proctor both connected on their first makes from deep shortly after, extending the lead to eight, 17-9, at the halfway point of the opening half. A block by Flagg on one end of the floor, leading to a third straight make from beyond the arc, this time from Sion James, forced a Syracuse timeout.
- Duke’s offense weathered a stretch of four straight misses, using a strong effort on defense to maintain its double-digit lead, 28-18, at the final media timeout of the first half. Proctor drilled his third three-pointer in the dying seconds of the first half, sending Duke into the break with a 14-point edge, 37-23.
- The Blue Devils scored five quick points, while forcing two early Syracuse turnovers, to start the second half. The lead stretched to 19, 46-27, following two free throws by Maliq Brown following the under-16 break. A two-hand stuff by Flagg, with 10:17 on the clock, gave the freshman 11 points, Duke’s fourth double-digit scorer.
- A flurry of dunks, courtesy of Khaman Maluach, Darren Harris and Evans ballooned the lead to over 30, 77-46, forcing a timeout by the Orange with less than four minutes to play. The two teams traded scores down the stretch to end at the 83-54 final margin.
NOTES
- Duke extended its winning streak to 16 games, its longest winning streak since the Blue Devils won 17 consecutive games to begin the 2005-06 season.
- The 16-game winning streak is the longest active stretch in the country.
- Duke improved to 7-0 in road games and has won all but one of those games by at least 11 points, with four of those double-digit wins coming by at least 25 points.
- With the victory, Duke improved to 12-0 in ACC play. The last time a Duke team won its first 12 conference games was during the 2005-06 campaign, when the Blue Devils began the ACC slate with 14 consecutive wins.
- The second-ranked Blue Devils are now 309-92 (.771) in ACC regular-season games when ranked as a top-five team in the country.
- Duke head coach Jon Scheyer improved to 74-20 (.787) at the helm of the program.
- With the win, Duke earned its 20th win of the season. The Blue Devils have reached the 20-win threshold in each of Scheyer’s first three seasons as head coach of the program.
- The Blue Devils are now 17-6 against Syracuse, including 10 straight victories overall, five consecutive on the road and 12 of the last 13.
- On the defensive end of the floor, Duke held Syracuse to a season-low 54 points. The Blue Devils have now held an opponent to a season low in scoring nine different times this season.
- Duke limited Syracuse to 54 points and has held all but two unranked teams to less than 65 points this season.
- Entering Wednesday night, Duke was the only team in the country to average over 80 points on offense (80.3), while holding opponents to 60 points or less (60.0). The Blue Devils continued the trend, eclipsing 80 points on offense and holding Syracuse to under 60 points on defense.
- Duke only turned the ball over six times, giving the Blue Devils back-to-back games with less than 10 turnovers.
- The Blue Devils dished 18 assists, ending the game with a 3-to-1 assist/turnover ratio.
- On defense, Duke forced 14 turnovers, fueled by swiping 12 steals – tied for the most in a game this season.
- The Blue Devils used those 14 takeaways to score a season-high 23 points off turnovers.
- Tyrese Proctor led all scorers with his 16 points, knocking down four three-pointers. The junior shot 4-of-10 (.400) from deep and has made multiple shots from beyond the arc in three of his last five games.
- When Proctor makes at least three three-pointers, Duke is 8-1 this season and 21-2 in Proctor’s career.
- Kon Knueppel scored 12 points and has cracked double-digit points in four straight outings. The freshman added two rebounds and two steals.
- Cooper Flagg contributed 11 points on 4-of-7 (.571) shooting, while also chipping in five caroms, two assists and two blocks in 28 minutes of action.
- Isaiah Evans shot 3-of-6 (.500) overall, and 2-of-4 (.500) from deep, en route to 10 total points. The freshman set a new career high for assists with four dimes, and matched his career high on the boards with four rebounds.
- Sion James rounded out Duke’s double-digit scoring with 10 points on 4-of-5 (.800) shooting from the field. James joined Evans with a team-high four assists, and tallied three steals, matching his season high.
- Maliq Brown, a transfer from Syracuse, posted an all-around performance in his return to the JMA Wireless Dome, securing a game-high eight rebounds to go with six points, three steals, one assist and one block.
- Brown led the team in +/-, finishing the contest at +24 in 22 minutes of play.
QUOTES
- “Really proud of the collective effort by everybody on our team, stepping up. The defense, I thought, was really good overall. I love seeing our guys competing, having fun together, and everybody being engaged. I thought we had everybody on the team step up in different moments tonight. To be able to come in here and get a win like this, it means a lot. We have to flip the page, obviously, very quickly as we move forward. Really proud of what our team did tonight.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
- “I think, with this group, it’s how together we are. I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve noticed, off the court and on the court, how connected we are. We all play for each other. We all have each other’s back. It’s fun, playing out there with your brothers and playing basketball the right way.” – Duke junior guard Tyrese Proctor, about the team’s success on the road.
UP NEXT
- Duke remains on the road for its next conference clash, making the trip to Clemson on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Blue Devils (20-2, 12-0 ACC) and Tigers (18-5, 10-2 ACC) will tip off at 6:30 p.m., on ESPN, at Littlejohn Coliseum.
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