Syracuse vs. Duke: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

In most years, a February meeting between Syracuse (18-11, 9-7 ACC) and Duke would be a clash of two contenders. However, it's been a relatively trying year for Jim Boeheim's squad, while No. 4 Duke (26-3, 13-3 ACC) has cruised to the upper echelon of the NCAA rankings behind the superlative play of freshman center Jahlil Okafor.

With the Orange bidding for an upset on Saturday to highlight their season, the Blue Devils left no doubt of their superiority with a 73-54 home win on Coach K Court in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Mike Krzyzewski said after the game, per Phil D'Abbraccio of The Daily Orange, "The ACC should not have two teams play so close (between games). I know they do it for TV, but it's really not fair to those teams."

Freshman forward Justise Winslow was the star of the game for Duke, posting a career-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while also chipping in nine rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Bret Strelow of The Fayetteville Observer reported that Winslow has been playing with a pad around his midsection to protect a fractured rib.

Okafor was his usual excellent self, putting up 13 points while pulling down 14 boards (seven on offense) and showing a nice touch with four assists. Quinn Cook notched 17 points, although he made just one of eight three-point attempts.

Cuse finished shooting just 30.6 percent from the floor as a team and racked up 15 turnovers. The scoring was balanced at least. Four starters reached double figures, and Tyler Roberson notched a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds.

It was a poor showing for Syracuse, despite the fact that Duke assistant coach Nate James felt it would be a "championship-type game for them," per Ryan Hoerger of The Duke Chronicle.

The Cameron Crazies drew attention for some spirited gamesmanship prior to the start of the contest, with many in attendance donning blazers in honor of Boeheim's demonstrative ejection from a February 2014 contest against Duke in Durham, North Carolina:

Duke jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on buckets from Cook and Okafor, but the offense was more miss than hit early on. Syracuse managed to secure an 8-6 lead by the first TV timeout with 15:37 remaining in the first half, six of those points coming from Roberson.

Donna Ditota of The Post-Standard noted Roberson's performance was an extension of his fine effort against Duke on Feb. 14, a game the Blue Devils won 80-72:

Winslow made his presence felt in the first half, but he wasn't infallible, especially early on. Powell Latimer of the News & Record mentioned a particularly embarrassing play:

Both teams would struggle to get anything going offensively over the next few minutes.

ACC Men's Basketball provided an update midway through the first half, while Duke Basketball noted the overall sloppy play:

Okafor made a particularly noteworthy play early on, scoring a tough bucket in the low post while being triple-teamed. ESPN's Bomani Jones was impressed:

Winslow took over on offense in the latter portion of the first half. With the score 17-16 Duke, Winslow went on a personal 9-2 run to extend the Blue Devils' advantage to eight before Cuse's Michael Gbinije stopped the bleeding with a crucial trey with just under four minutes remaining in the half.

Blue Devil Nation admired Winslow's toughness after his offensive streak:

Winslow's play seemed to loosen up the Blue Devils, as they slowly but surely asserted their control over the game. Syracuse could do very little on offense outside of Roberson and Rakeem Christmas, who chipped in with five first-half points.

The Orange were particularly dreadful from beyond the arc, going just 1-of-8 on three-point attempts in the first half.

With Okafor drawing attention down low and Winslow using his athleticism to make plays all over the court, Duke took a relatively comfortable 34-25 lead heading into the locker room.

ESPN College Basketball provided an update on Winslow's stats up to that point:

"

Big half for Justise Winslow! The Duke freshman has 15 Pts & 6 Reb as No. 4 Blue Devils lead Syracuse 34-25 at half. pic.twitter.com/G2DpzOlkrA

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 1, 2015"

The second half got off to a much more watchable start than the first. Christmas provided Syracuse with a needed boost on offense, asserting himself down low and scoring his side's first six points of the frame.

Duke beat reporter Laura Keeley explained that he did much of his damage at the charity stripe, despite the Crazies serenading him with carols, including "Jingle Bells":

The Blue Devils would easily match Syracuse's effort, however, and did well to maintain their advantage. Tyus Jones facilitated the offense, while Winslow and Okafor crashed the offensive boards to great effect.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Back-to-back three-pointers from Matt Jones and Winslow provided Duke with a 44-31 lead with 15 minutes remaining, their largest advantage of the game to that point.

The perimeter play was a significant source of disappointment for Syracuse. Gbinije and Trevor Cooney combined to make just three of 19 attempts by the time Duke took a timeout at 13:52 mark.

Duke would start to pull away from Syracuse at that point. Cook notched a quick four points after the timeout, and Winslow hit a back-breaking three to make the score 51-33.

The trey also gave Winslow a career high in points, per Duke Basketball:

"

That 3 makes a career-high 21 points for @Chief_Justise! His 3rd 20-point game. #Duke up 15, 51-36 at 11:33 mark. #letsgoduke #BeatCuse

— Duke M. Basketball (@Duke_MBB) March 1, 2015"

Gbinije would sink a three to make the score 51-36 before a TV timeout with 11:33 left in the contest.

Duke would come out of the timeout and promptly sink two straight three-pointers on either side of free throws from Roberson.

Winslow showed off his defensive chops as well in this contest, notching a steal and then a huge block to stifle a Syracuse fast break before a TV timeout with 7:49 to go and Duke up 58-40.

While Okafor proved yet again he's one of the top players in the college ranks, he wasn't without fault in this contest. 

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports contributor Seth Davis commented on his rough day from the foul line:

It should also be noted that neither team has a very deep bench. Both squads played just eight players, despite the lopsided scoreline, and Duke Basketball observed that Krzyzewski had four of his five starters on the floor late into the contest:

Cook was a notable bright spot for Duke with 13 second-half points, and the Blue Devils cruised to a 73-54 win.

It's a sterling late-season win for the Blue Devils, but they are still chasing their white whale in Virginia, which handily defeated Virginia Tech 69-57 on Saturday. These two teams are no doubt the top squads in a talented ACC, and both are well-positioned for No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

This is a transitional year for the Orange. They are just two games above .500 in conference play and don't even have a tournament seed to play for due to a self-imposed sanction. All Boeheim can do is coach up the players who will be in New York next season and hope a strong recruiting class propels them to their usual lofty heights in the 2015-16 campaign.