Duke Blue Devils Drop Third Consecutive Game With 64-62 Loss To Syracuse

Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium is supposed to be a fortress. The Blue Devils are supposed to be a top-ranked team who rarely lose, let alone lose at home. But none of that was true on Monday night, when the Syracuse Orange came to Durham and handed Duke a 64-62 loss.

Tyler Robinson was a dominant force for Syracuse, who exploited the Blue Devils’ lack of interior presence. With Duke’s Amile Jefferson still sidelined, Robinson was able to pot 14 points while pulling down 20 rebounds; that broke an arena record for the most rebounds by a visitor that had stood since 1957.

“Just anticipating misses and just going after everything,” Roberson said. “When you do that, good things happen.”

While Marshall Plumlee had 19 points for Duke, they are now at risk to fall out of the rankings for the first time since 2006-07. “The game is tremendous, and it can be incredibly great to you, and it can be incredibly cruel to you,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “And right now, we’re going through the cruel part.”

Despite that, Duke still had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Matt Jones was bumped off the ball without a foul being called. Krzyzewski repeatedly called the play “amazing” and Jones showed reporters a scratch on his arm following the game. “I can’t really go to the ref and show him,” he said.

Photo: Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim By Chad Cooper, via Wikimedia Commons