DURHAM, N.C. — The first “NIT” chant rung out with 3:25 remaining, Duke leading by 19 points and Syracuse staring at its third loss over its past four games.

Although SU hung close through about 30 minutes of play, the fifth-ranked Blue Devils (24-5, 12-4 Atlantic Coast) broke away late in the game to down the Orange (18-11, 7-9), 60-44, on Saturday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Syracuse committed more turnovers (17) than it has in any game since its loss at Florida State on Jan. 13, while the Blue Devils have now held four-straight opponents to under 60 points. Losers of three of its last four, Syracuse has two games remaining on its regular-season schedule.

Here are three quick takeaways from the game.

The big three’s trouble

Widely known as the crux of the Syracuse offense, the trio of Tyus Battle, Frank Howard and Oshae Brissett combined for four first-half points. It was a season-low for them. Brissett looked hesitant inside and turned over the ball three times. Howard and Battle combined to shoot 2-for-12 from the floor in the first half. Until that point, it was SU’s least-proven, least-experienced unit inside that constituted the bulk of the scoring, however little that may have been. Junior center Paschal Chukwu led SU scorers with six points in the first half, and forwards Matthew Moyer and Marek Dolezaj had combined for nine.

Howard had several open 3-pointers, both in transition and in the half court, but he missed. Sometimes badly. It’s probable that he shot 2-for-10 from deep and 4-for-14 overall because he pushed the ball, rather than rise and lift into a flick at the release point, as he pointed out to The Daily Orange in January. He scored 11 points and Battle had a team-high 12.

Taste of your own medicine

What Syracuse has done best through the years — run head coach Jim Boeheim’s patented 2-3 zone — effectively halted Syracuse’s offensive viability. Duke has run a 2-3 zone intermittently this season, but it deviated from its typical sturdy man-to-man pressure for the zone. The Blue Devils snapped a two-game slide in January by forcing Louisville into discomfort with the zone, and they did the same on Saturday. SU was effective when it ran high ball screens and worked the ball to the high post, although that seldom happened. The Orange shot a dismal 6-for-25 from deep — only because SU made three of its last four in the final minutes — against a zone that practically begged SU to keep chucking up 3s.

For the most part, SU kept missing.

Bagley’s back

Blue Devils freshman forward phenom Marvin Bagley III, a likely top-five pick in this year’s NBA Draft, scored a game-high 19 points. He grabbed seven rebounds. He did not start because he missed the last four games with an injury, but he dunked and knocked down some 3-pointers throughout warmups. Much of his production during the game came as a result of his teammates setting him up, as he scored several baskets by following a missed shot and notching putbacks. He caught a few alley-oops as well, sneaking behind the back of the SU zone. That was the lone soft spot in Syracuse’s otherwise stingy defense Saturday against one of the more balanced offenses in the conference.

More importantly, the dominance inside of Bagley and Wendell Carter, Jr. may signal a small issue moving forward. SU’s interior defense has proved solid all season, but teams can infiltrate the back end of SU’s zone this season with not necessarily height, but weight. Bagley (234 pounds), Marques Bolden (246), Carter Jr. (259) and Javin DeLaurier (231) found crevices inside to finish off scraps or throw down jams. That, oftentimes, put to rest any run Syracuse was looking to make.

Published on February 24, 2018 at 8:24 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21