On The Hunt For Revenge, No. 5 Duke Hosts No. 1 Syracuse

After a game for the ages earlier this month, Duke and Syracuse will square off again on Saturday.

After a true barnburner of a matchup at the beginning of the month, No. 5 Duke and No. 1 Syracuse will lock horns once more, meeting in Durham, N.C., on Saturday night.

Tip-off at Cameron Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

The rematch to what was the most anticipated matchup this college basketball season comes after a shocking week of action that saw both schools stumble, a week that included the Orange’s first loss of the year.

Syracuse (25-1, 12-1 ACC) took its perfect record into action on Wednesday, hosting lowly Boston College at the Carrier Dome.

What should have been a slam dunk turned into a humbling outing for Jim Boeheim’s side, as the Eagles defeated the Orange 62-59 in overtime.

Syracuse had flirted with defeat for two games in a row, but it was the team from Chestnut Hill, Mass., that took the honor of placing the first blemish on the Orange’s record.

Now Boeheim will look to navigate his team through the toughest part of its schedule, a stint that includes four of five games on the road to close out the season, and on to an ACC regular season title.

He’ll start by taking his team to Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the hosts haven’t lost in 34 games.

Duke (21-6, 10-4 ACC) also enters Saturday’s showdown looking to avoid a losing streak.

The Blue Devils came unglued against North Carolina in Thursday’s rearranged matchup in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The latest installment of the Tobacco Road rivalry saw the Blue Devils go cold in the second half, missing 13 straight shots to relinquish an 11-point lead. The Tar Heels meanwhile made a huge bid to become a ranked side, defeating Duke 74-66 for an eighth straight win.

Right now, North Carolina is the team nobody wants to face, which is bad news for Duke – who meets the Tar Heels again on the last day of the season.

Like Syracuse, Duke will look to return to winning ways on Saturday, but that might be a tougher task than you think.

Thanks to the inclement weather last week and the rearranged fixture with UNC, Duke will be playing in its fourth game in eight days, Saturday. The Blue Devils looked tired on Thursday. Saturday’s game could see the tank running on empty.

But Mike Krzyzewski’s side has an added impetus to win.

On February 1, in the highly touted first matchup between the sides, Syracuse emerged with a 91-89 overtime victory in front of a record-breaking crowd at the Carrier Dome. Now, Duke will look for revenge.

The Blue Devils had four players scoring in double figures that game: Rasheed Sulaimon (16pts), Jabari Parker (15), Amile Jefferson (14), Rodney Hood (14), and Andre Dawkins (14).

But that wasn’t enough to get by an Orange side that saw Jeremi Grant tally a career-best 24 points – to go alongside 12 rebounds – and C.J. Fair drop 28 points. Rakeem Christmas chipped in with 10 boards, four at the offensive end.

Meanwhile, the Orange held a 9-0 advantage in shots, and stuffed out Duke’s inside game. The Blue Devils scored 45 of their 89 points from beyond the arc.

So, Syracuse enters Saturday’s game with the bragging rights, but bragging right mean nothing when it comes to playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke hasn’t lost at home since February 5, 2012, winning 34 since. Krzyzewski’s side is also 80-2 in its last 82 contests at the historic facility. Put simply, winning in front of the Cameron Crazies is what Duke does, and it does it well.

Syracuse Orange vs. Duke Blue Devils odds for 02/22/2014

Duke will be the favorite heading into Saturday’s primetime matchup.

Since 1979, Syracuse owns a 2-1 record against Duke. In addition to this season’s victory, the Orange picked up a win in an interconference matchup on December 6, 1989.

Duke was victorious in an NCAA tournament matchup between the two sides on March 20, 1998. Elton Brand had 20 points and 14 boards while Shane Battier had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Blue Devils that day.

The spread opened at 5.5.

Both Duke (17-10-0 ATS) and Syracuse (15-7-0 ATS) have fared well against the spread this season, although things haven’t been as solid of late. Syracuse had failed to cover in two straight and four of its last six. Duke has failed to cover in two of the last three.

Duke is 15-9-0 ATS when playing as the favorite, while Syracuse covered the spread in its only other game as an underdog this season, a trip to Pittsburgh back on February 12.

Duke covered the spread when the two sides met earlier this month.

At the time of publication, Vegas had yet to release a line for the over/under. To get you ready for when that line is unveiled, here are some trends to consider.

Both Duke (12-14-1) and Syracuse (8-14-0) have favored the under this season. Syracuse has seen the total go under in its last five games, as well as 12 of the last 14. Duke has seen the total go under in three straight.

However, the total went over in the previous meeting between the two schools. Another overtime game on Saturday and the over would be all but assured.

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