Editorial by Graydon Fox

Prizes:

1^st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2^nd-5^th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 winners

Overview:

On Friday, March 24^th, the #11 seed Syracuse Orange will take on the #2 seed Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Duke 75.9 – Syracuse 68.9 with an over/under of 144.8.

Statistics (2017-18 season):

Point differential: Duke +15.6 > Syracuse +3.1 PPG

Points per game: Duke 84.9 PPG > Syracuse 66.7 PPG

Points allowed per game: Syracuse 63.6 PPG > Duke 69.7 PPG

Field Goal Percentage Offense: Duke 49.6% > Syracuse 41.5%

Field Goal Percentage Defense: Syracuse 39.1% > Duke 40.2%

Three Point Percentage: Duke 38.3% > Syracuse 31.8%

Turnovers per game: Syracuse 12.4 > Duke 12.6

Rebounds per game: Duke 41.6 > Syracuse 37.2

Assists per game: Duke 17.8 > Syracuse 10.6

Summary:

Duke makes yet another Sweet Sixteen appearance after defeating Iona 89-67 and Rhode Island 87-62.  The Blue Devils rank 6^th in the nation in scoring (84.9 PPG) and 4^th in rebounding (41.6 RPG).  Duke has five players that average double figures including their leading scorer Marvin Bagley III (21.2 PPG and 11.3 RPG).  Bagley III is a dual threat forward who is shooting 61.3% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range.  Duke is one of the best perimeter shooting teams with seven players shooting at least 35% from three.  Grayson Allen (15.6 PPG and 4.6 APG) and Trevon Duvall (10.2 PPG and 5.6 APG) can score and make plays as well as any guard tandem I’ve seen this year.  The Blue Devils really share the ball (17.8 APG) and get easy baskets.  Wendell Carter Jr. (13.6 PPG and 9.2 RPG) is a monster on the glass and is an underrated rim protector (2.1 BPG).  Overall, Duke probably has more raw talent than any other team left in the tournament.

Syracuse shocked everyone around the country with their 57-52 win over TCU and their amazing 55-53 upset over Michigan State. Jim Boeheim’s famous 2-3 zone gave TCU and Michigan State fits as they held each opponent under 60 points.  The Orange rank 317^th out of 350 teams in scoring offense (66.7 PPG).  Though Syracuse lacks scoring prowess, they are definitely one of the nation’s elite defensive teams.  Syracuse ranks 10^th in scoring defense (63.6 PPG) and 5^th in field goal percentage defense (39.1%).  Tyus Battle (19.3 PPG) leads the team in scoring, while Oshae Burnett (14.9 PPG and 8.9 RPG) and Frank Howard (14.6 PPG and 4.7 APG) make up the rest of the team’s double-digit scorers.  Syracuse struggles to shoot the ball from the field (41.5%) and three-point range (31.8%).  The Orange are among the worst teams in regards to assists (10.6 APG) but they have a relatively low turnover rate (12.4 TPG).

Bottom Line:

Duke is (6-3) against ranked opponents this season while Syracuse is (3-7).  Duke hosted Syracuse earlier this season and soundly beat them 60-44.  The familiarity in facing and conquering Boeheim’s 2-3 zone can only give Duke confidence that they can beat the Orange again.  On paper, Duke is the superior scoring, rebounding, passing, and shooting team so I expect them to win by double digits.

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