The old adage about the NBA is you can catch all the action the final two minutes. It’s not necessarily true.
If you caught the last possession of Duke-Syracuse, there was a wealth of drama and excitement rolled into one incredible shot. But that was not the whole story. John Gillon’s buzzer-beating running three pointer at the top of the key gave Syracuse a 78-75 victory at the Carrier Dome. That snapped Duke’s (22-6) seven game conference win streak and kept Syracuse’s (17-12) NCAA hopes alive another day.
In a 65 possession game, both teams showed excellent offensive efficiency, Syracuse at 124 while Duke rang up a 119. Duke enjoyed a huge 40-17 edge in offensive rebounding percentage. That margin was offset by the marksmanship of Syracuse. Jim Boeheim’s club actually shot better from three than two-point range.
Syracuse
2 pt shooting 6 of 11 (55 percent)
3 pt shooting 19 of 36 (53 percent)
Duke
2 pt shooting 10 of 33 (30 percent)
3 pt shooting 15 of 31 (48 percent)
Kenpom game MVP: John Gillon, Syracuse – 26 points, EF 35. Zero turnovers and an EF per minute of .875. That translates on the EF (Litton scale) as a “very good” performance.
On this night, Syracuse fans could add a few adjectives to that categorization
