Before we talk about the Duke-Syracuse game, let's talk about the loss to Notre Dame.  Yes, Duke was playing matador defense allowing easy shots in the paint for the Irish and that made the basket as big as a football field from the outside.   But the Irish were a clear pre season top 25 team with their backs against the wall after some tough losses.  Those losses came to teams in the nation's top 50 teams and most of those were on the road.  What I am saying here is that the Irish are a good team as is Clemson who disposed of Miami and is the ACC's hottest team.

The ACC is a brutal league this season with teams that can beat you on any night and Duke is a team playing with one senior while  one of their captain starters is injured.  That starter, Amile Jefferson, is Duke's only returning starter.  This means Duke plays a lot of freshman and only some of those have had the light go off so to speak.  This means Duke is a very thin team who doesn't have a clear point guard and a core of six players are having to play iron man minutes with no rest. And all of this together means there is no margin of error and games can turn on a single play on offense or defense,  And that's what's happened of late where an ill-timed shot or selection of said shot or a key rebound lost creates a loss.

Syracuse comes in tonight and on the surface people will say this should be an easy win per their record.  But the Orange have blown  out their last two opponents in Boston College and Wake Forest and part of this is the return of HOF Coach Jim Boeheim.  So, don't let their record fool you for they were missing their coach and with his return they are playing tough basketball.  Syracuse depends on formerDuke player Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney and like Duke they play a key group of players which is good for the Blue Devils per depth issues.

Luke Kennard went off in his last game and he is now leaned on as one of three key scorers along with Brandon Ingram and Grayson Allen.  Marshall Plumlee will once again have to man the middle pretty much alone while Matt Jones needs to find his groove again.  Duke is reeling coming off a two game losing streak and they are coming in with little rest.  They could do nothing more than have a walk though before this game in preparation.  What Duke will seek in this game are consistent efforts and the staff will look to  manage players in foul trouble better.

This game will be tough and Duke desperately needs this win as does Syracuse to continue their recent ascent under Boeheim.  Duke will need to defend the post better and hold their own on the boards.  What has hurt Duke of late is those running the point have to still find their offense and that has effected Allen and Jones.  If Thornton starts to make better decisions with the ball in his hands, he can relive that stress but it likely will not happen until later int he season.

Look for Duke to bounce back in a game they need but this is another game the Blue Devils can lose if the focus is not 100 % there from beginning to end.