For the second time in three weeks, Syracuse and Duke played a back-and-forth, down-to-the-wire battle. But this time, it was the No. 5 Blue Devils who came out on top with a 66-60 win over the No. 1 Orange.
Syracuse vs. Duke final score: Blue Devils top Orange to avenge earlier loss
No. 1 Syracuse has now lost back-to-back games, while Duke rebounded from a tough loss at North Carolina.
After a first half in which Syracuse led most of the way, neither team led by more than six points in the second half. And with Duke holding a two-point lead with 24.9 seconds remaining, Syracuse came down the floor with a chance to tie or take the lead.
But C.J. Fair committed a questionable offensive foul that led coach Jim Boeheim to erupt on the sideline:
His reaction resulted in a pair of technicals, an immediate ejection and three made free throws from Duke to seal the game.
With the win, Duke rebounded from a disappointing loss at North Carolina earlier in the week, while the Orange have now lost two straight after starting 25-0.
Duke freshman Jabari Parker continued to make his case as the nation's best freshman with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils. Parker was 6-of-9 from the field, helped in part to plays like this:
Jerami Grant led Syracuse with 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Fair added 12 more, although those two combined for 52 points in the Orange's win over Duke three weeks ago. Tyler Ennis struggled for the Orange, scoring nine points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Duke has now won 31 consecutive home games, good for the longest home-court winning streak in the country.
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