Duke is one of the country\u2019s top college basketball programs for a reason. Actually, it\u2019s any number of reasons but one of the most compelling is their tough home court presence at venerable Cameron Indoor Arena. The Blue Devils are a nasty opponent on their home court in any circumstance but particularly so when they\u2019re the #1 team in the country. The last time that Duke lost a game at home while ranked number one? Try 2006. Well, that\u2019s not exactly accurate. They\u2019ve lost to arch rival North Carolina at home as the top ranked team in that stretch. Against every other team they\u2019ve faced in that situation they\u2019re 104-0.<\/p>\n
That streak came to an end with a resounding thud on Monday night as the Syracuse Orange upset the Duke Blue Devils 95-91 in overtime. No one associated with the program will say this but given everything that went wrong for Duke in this game they did well to get to overtime. The Blue Devils\u2019 marquee player, Zion Williamson, said that it was just \u2018one of those nights\u2019<\/a> underscored by a three-quarter court shot Syracuse made to end the first half:<\/p>\n “When that shot went in it just showed what kind of night it was for them. It seemed like everything they threw up was just bottom of the net. They just hit a lot of shots.”<\/em><\/p>\n Williamson finished with 35 points but due to some health issues to his teammates was forced to play 44 minutes. Even Williamson was less than 100% as he was listed as \u2018questionable\u2019 heading into the game after he was poked in the eye against Florida State over the weekend. Forward Cam Redddish missed the game with an undisclosed illness described as \u2018flu like symptoms\u2019 but the big blow came when point guard Tre Jones left with what appeared to be a shoulder sprain. The significance of these two players was emphasized by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski<\/a>: With the Blue Devils\u2019 inside options limited they resorted to becoming a perimeter shooting team. That\u2019s great when it works, but on this night it didn\u2019t. Duke went 9 for 43 on three point shots for a woeful 20.9%. R.J. Barrett went 4 for 17 from behind the arc himself. The three point shot was their undoing during the pivotal point of the game in the second half when Duke went 0-for-10 from the field as they squandered an eight point lead.<\/p>\n Syracuse hasn\u2019t been an exceptionally good road team in recent years prior to Monday\u2019s huge upset as a +17 college basketball pointspread<\/a> underdog. Heading into the game they had gone 8-14 SU\/ATS in lined road games over the past three seasons. As a road dog of +12.5 or more they were 0-2 SU\/ATS in that same stretch. It was their first spot in over twenty years as a road dog of more than +15.5 points. Duke, meanwhile, entered on a run of 8-0 SU\/ATS this year at home and 38-2 SU\/22-15 ATS over the past three seasons. Given their status as a huge \u2018public\u2019 team that pointspread record is remarkable. As a home chalk of -12.5 or more they entered Monday\u2019s contest on a 140-94 ATS run. Head to head, the Blue Devils had won and covered 3 of the last 4 meetings against Syracuse on their home court.<\/p>\n
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\n“The game plan was to have Tre Jones and Cameron Reddish. When you get two guys hurt, there is no game plan anymore. It’s a period of adjustment. You’re trying to find ways to win.”<\/em><\/p>\n