SYRACUSE, N.Y.—The Blue Devils arrived at the Carrier Dome Wednesday looking to extend their ACC-best seven-game win streak to eight.
They are well on their way to doing just that thanks to a double-double effort by freshman Jayson Tatum in the opening 20 minutes.
Sparked by Tatum’s 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds, No. 10 Duke leads Syracuse 33-25 at the break. Tatum's jumper has looked smooth for the third straight game, spearheading the Blue Devil offense as Duke held the Orange to 34.8 percent shooting. Sophomore Luke Kennard added nine points, and the Blue Devils capitalized on a Syracuse field goal drought lasting more than seven minutes in the middle of the period to take control.
Duke looked to break down Syracuse’s 2-3 zone early on by switching up its typical floor spacing. Kennard floated in the middle of the zone, and Tatum, junior Grayson Allen and senior captain Matt Jones rotated around the perimeter.
Although the two squads exchanged baskets in the opening minutes, it became a game of runs from there.
Duke tallied seven straight points to take an early 12-6 advantage. Allen kicked off the run after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt and sinking all three free throws. Tatum followed Allen’s efforts up with a quick mid-range jumper, then secured a steal and fed Allen for another easy two points.
The Orange responded with a 7-0 run of their own, capped by a trey from redshirt senior Andrew White III to put Syracuse up by one. But Tatum quickly silenced the 30,000-plus person crowd by draining a 3-pointer of his own 20 seconds later.
After allowing Duke to run away with an eight-point spurt, the Orange found new life when graduate transfer John Gillon sent Tatum sprawling across the floor with a crossover before sinking a triple from the top of the key. However, Tatum responded once again with a quick jumper to quell the Syracuse fans and put the Blue Devils back up by eight.
Although Duke is leading, the Blue Devil coaches have looked frustrated by the team's five turnovers and a series of miscues in transition that could have Duke leading by more heading into the locker room.
Here are some observations from the first half:
- Allen and Kennard both missed their first attempts from long range on the evening, but Tatum sank one from the corner to get Duke started on the perimeter.
- Tatum hit double figures with more than seven minutes remaining in the first half.
- Allen is getting booed every time he touches the ball once again on the road and shot just 1-of-7 in the first half.
- Rookie Harry Giles made a tough reverse layup down low but played only four minutes in the first period.
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