Cuse-Duke: Newest ACC rivalry could be the best

SYRACUSE– Preparations for the Super Bowl was taking place just four hours down the road at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

But no one in this snowy city in upstate New York seemed to care.

Students camped out for two weeks in the chilly temperatures to get their hands on precious tickets for the first on campus ACC meeting between top-ranked Syracuse and traditional ACC power Duke in the Carrier Dome. The Syracuse The Syracuse Post Herald began pumping up the game a week ahead of time and it wasn’t long before ESPN Game Day jumped on board. Local buses flashed the message, “Beat Duke” as they headed up the hills leading to campus.

And a sellout crowd of 35,446 — a NCAA record for an on campus game– braved the cold and snow to witness history.

This was one time where the game matched the hype. Top-ranked Syracuse defeated Duke, 81-79, in overtime here last Saturday night in a game filled with so many heavyweight punches thrown by both teams that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim called it “an epic” and said he couldn’t remember a better game played in the Dome. That is really saying something, given the fact the Orange has played so many classics against Georgetown in the old Big East, particularly during the Patrick Ewing era.

“It was just a great game,” Boeheim said. “I don’t think I’ve been involved in a better game here that I can remember where both teams played at such a high level. You can have close games and tough, exciting games. But I don’t think I’ve seen a game where two really good defensive teams, and its 91-89. Both teams just went after it. I can’t say enough about the quality of this game. It was the highest quality possible.

“If you paid $3,400 on the market for a court side seat, it was money well worth spent. You should be happy that you did. If you sold your tickets for this game, you should be ashamed because you made some money and missed something epic.”

This was the dawning of a new era.

And the beginning of a best new rivalry in the post realignment era. Unlike other rivalries in the conference, Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski, who have been part of the Olympic coaching staff since 2008, are friends and are entering the final chapter of their coaching careers. As unthinkable as this was last year, Syracuse and Duke may replace Carolina-Duke as the biggest rivalry in the conference, at least for the time being. The game may not have 60 years of tradition, but it will feature two of the top five programs in the country.

And, when it is played at the Dome, it becomes the social event of the winter. Ear plugs were recommended.

The crowd could have been even bigger too. Syracuse officials toyed with the idea of moving the court to the middle of the football field at the Dome in  an attempt to put 50,000 fans in the building. But calmer heads prevailed when the school considered the problems of moving season ticket holders and site lines and kept the court in the end zone.  As it was, there were fans seats in the upper decks  near the opposite end zone  who had to watch the game on the giant video board. Assume they just wanted to be there for the spectacle which has clearly been the regular game of the year to date.

Basketball was meant to be played in a more intimate setting. In the best of all possible worlds, the Final Four would be held in an NBA arena. But the NCAA, in an effort to max out the gate receipts and accommodate ticket demands, has dictated any arena bidding to host the Final Four must have at least 60,000 seats, restricting the games to NFL sized arenas.

I’m sure at least 60,000 fans will say they were at this game to watch these two goliaths give the reconfigured ACC some long overdue, renewed prestige. The ACC was supposed to rule college basketball this season. Big East imports Syracuse and Pitt have done their part and Duke and Virginia are both finally playing at a high level. Enigmatic North Carolina has enough good non-conference wins to also make the field.

The ACC needed a game like this, where both Duke and Syracuse put multiple future NBA players on the court and all of them played well, to resonate in the national consciousness. Syracuse forwards — senior C.J. Fair and sophomore Jermani Grant should both be first round picks, along with poised freshman point guard Tyler Ennis, who is rapidly replacing Leo Rautins as the best Canadian player to put on a Syracuse uniform. Duke forwards– freshman Jabari Parker and sophomore Rodney Hood also have that first round look about them as does sophomore guard Rashad Suliamon, who came out of his slump to make five threes, including one from 26 feet that forced the game into overtime. Fair, who scored 28 points, went from a very good player to a great one that night. And Grant, who finished with 22, took over overtime after both Parker and Duke’s 6-8 center Amile Jefferson fouled out during this ESPN instant classic. 

In a year where there are no great teams and injuries have plagued contenders like Arizona and Michigan State, Syracuse is starting to look like it has the most complete BCS team in the country. Junior center Rakeem Christmas is finally starting to threw his muscle around and Boeheim has found a way to replace his depleted guard line with Ennis and red shirt junior guard Trevor Cooney, who have emerged from a journeyman his first two years to the Cuse’s best deep shooter.

Just two days after the Duke win catapulted the Orange ahead of Arizona to the top of the AP poll, Cooney shot 11 for 15 and scored 33 points as the Orange defated old big East nemeis Notre Dame, 61-55, in the Dome, making up for the fact Fair had his worst game of the game and Ennis, a candidate for ACC Player of the Year, played uncharacteristically unassertively during the team’s third emotional game in six days.

Cooney’s performance were the most points scored since James Southerland scored 35 against Arkansas last season. Cooney was 9-for-12 from 3-point range, and that long-range performance tied a school record also held by James Southerland, Andy Rautins and Gerry McNamara, who watched Cooney tie his record from his seat on the bench as assistant coach.

“Everything he shot looked pure,” Syracuse assistant coach Gerry McNamara said of Cooney’s performance.

“He had a great session yesterday after practice. He shot it pretty well today. He shot it even better tonight. One of the greatest shooting performances I’ve watched.”

There are no guarantees Syracuse will run the table. The Orange still had road games at Duke, Pitt and Virginia. But the team’s balance and chemistry should put Syracuse in position to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA bracketing in the East, where they would get to play their second and third round games in Buffalo and play the regional at the Garden, where Syracuse has its largest alumni group and the building should be bathed in orange.

I thought Boeheim did one of his best coaching jobs ever last year when the ‘Cuse smothered both Indiana and Marquette in the East regional to advance to a Final Four. But this could be better. The only time Syracuse has won a national championship was back in 2003 when freshman forward Carmelo Anthony lifted the Orange to greatness. This team has a chance to cut down the nets again.