The Blue Devils have made their mark this season on the defensive end, holding opponents to 54.2 points per contest with an aggressive matchup zone that has led to three top-20 wins at home already this season against teams that beat Duke last year.
To increase that number to four, though, the Blue Devils will have to erase memories from one of their most lopsided losses in recent memory.
No. 14 Duke will host No. 20 Syracuse Friday at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium, with the winner claiming third place in the ACC standings with just four games left in the regular season. The Orange destroyed the Blue Devils in the teams' conference opener a season ago, lighting up the Carrier Dome in a lopsided 86-50 rout in which they canned 14 3-pointers.
And with nation's highest-scoring backcourt duo arriving in Durham for Friday's matchup, Duke will need to be at the top of its game on the perimeter defensively to avenge last season's embarrassing loss. Senior Alexis Peterson is fourth in the nation in scoring at 23.7 points per contest, and Brittney Sykes is not far behind at 19.1 per game.
The players average more than 10 assists together per contest and have combined to make 104 triples this season at nearly a 40 percent clip.
“It takes a team effort to guard Peterson as well as Sykes. They’re terrific guards,” McCallie said. “Obviously they shoot a million three-balls, and it’s just going to [take] an effort from everybody.”
Behind Peterson and Sykes, the Orange (17-7, 8-3 in the ACC) average more than 80 points per contest and will look to spread out the Blue Devil defense to open up driving lanes.
But Duke (20-4, 8-3) has been much more disciplined closing out to shooters this year than at times in years past, with freshman forward Leaonna Odom's length and quickness giving the back line of the zone more teeth and senior forwards Kendall Cooper and Oderah Chidom making life tough on opponents inside.
Thanks to Odom's versatility, McCallie has the luxury to play smaller lineups to match up with Syracuse's quickness inside or go big and pound the Orange inside, where they struggle to defend the paint.
The Blue Devils are top 10 nationally in scoring defense but their Friday opponent sits outside the 200 by allowing more than 66 points per contest.
Syracuse routinely lets opponents score in the 80s and 90s, which is what it could take for Duke to pull out the win Friday night if the Orange got hot from distance.
Luckily for the Blue Devils, redshirt junior Rebecca Greenwell has been on fire the past two games to complement Lexie Brown and give Duke a lethal backcourt duo of its own.
The Owensboro, Ky., native has scored 42 points in her last two contests on 15-of-23 shooting, canning six 3-pointers while looking much more on balance with her jump shot. With her and Brown firing on all cylinders, the game has seemed to open up for Duke and come much easier.
“Becca plays so hard and I don’t see her in any kind of slump. We don’t think that way. Becca has done a great job of rebounding, playing better defense [and] attacking offensively,” McCallie said. “She is capable of scoring lots of points, but the key is to be the all-around player too. I just think Becca has done great and has great potential to do more.”
But the Blue Devils will need more than great guard play to extend their three-game winning streak.
Syracuse boasts 6-foot-4 center Bria Day to complement its guards, as the senior averages more than 13 points per contest and will test Duke's interior players at both ends of the court. She averages 9.0 boards per game and Sykes corrals almost eight per contest herself, meaning the Blue Devils will have to be wary of Syracuse crashing the offensive boards to create extra possessions against the zone.
Another key for Duke will be ball security, as the Orange feasted on Blue Devil turnovers last season and could try to pressure, Brown, Greenwell and sophomore Kyra Lambert again Friday evening. Peterson is especially dangerous when knifing into passing lanes, as the Columbus, Ohio, native averages 3.3 thefts per contest.
“The key is to move the ball and to only have aggressive dribbles to the basket and get rid of all the unnecessary ones,” McCallie said. “So just great passing—the team playing together and looking for each other—that’s the best way to play.”
After Friday's tilt, the Blue Devils will return to the court Sunday against Pittsburgh (12-11, 3-7). Duke's versatility and ability to play multiple styles will likely come in handy against a team that relies on Brenna Wise and Brandi Harvey-Carr to create offensive inside.
With the Blue Devils fighting for a double-bye in the ACC tournament, they know they cannot afford to slip up late in the season and will look to add to an already strong postseason resume this weekend.
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