Coach Mike Krzyzewski called into the Jim Boeheim Show on Thursday to surprise his colleague under the name “Mike from Durham.” “I’ve been a fan of coach Boeheim for five decades,” Krzyzewski said. It was a fun twist to an ongoing farewell tour for Krzyzewski where former players, coaches, commentators, and analysts continually rain down well-deserved praise on the all-time leader in wins for Division I. Unlike their coach, Duke was anything but friendly at the Carrier Dome on Saturday and handled Syracuse 97-72.
The Blue Devils scored on four of their first five possessions with two alley-oops from Paolo Banchero to Mark Williams. Their 14-0 lead was stressful for Orange fans who don’t sit in their seats until their team scores. Buddy Boeheim’s bank shot at the 15:27 mark allowed them to finally rest. Boeheim helped make the game somewhat respectable and scored 10 of the Orange’s last 14 points of the first half but Duke still led 51-34 at the break.
Mark Williams had a career-high 28 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks. Because of his 2.9 blocks per game, he’s a contender for ACC Defensive Player of the Year alongside teammate Wendell Moore Jr. Williams scored from excellent ball movement and the Blue Devils also had a season-high 26 assists. The comfortable lead remained in the second half despite the Orange shooting 49.2 percent for the game. Saturday’s 25-point margin of victory was the largest in the history of all Boeheim-Krzyzewski games.
It was a historic day in college basketball as six of the nation’s highest-ranked teams were defeated. This is a perfect week for Duke to propel toward a possible top-seed in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected them as a No. 2 seed last week. The Blue Devils will face Pittsburgh on Tuesday at 8 p.m. before the regular-season finale against North Carolina next Saturday.
