R.J. Barrett, No. 1 Duke strike revenge against Syracuse without Zion Williamson
No. 1 Duke showed its mettle without star player Zion Williamson, taking down Syracuse on the road 75-65 to exact revenge for one of its only losses this season.
Williamson's national player of the year-caliber teammate, R.J. Barrett, put the team on his back offensively and was virtually unstoppable in select spurts. He finished with 30 points and seven assists on 14-for-20 shooting from the floor.
Meanwhile, fellow super freshmen Cam Reddish (2-for-11 for five points) and Tre Jones (2-for-12 for 11 points) struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Role player Alex O'Connell was the X-Factor for Duke, finishing with 20 points on 5-for-8 shooting from three-point range.
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The Blue Devils (24-3, 12-2 ACC) are currently projected as the top overall No. 1 seed in USA TODAY Sports' latest bracketology projection, and didn't do anything to prove that wrong. The NCAA tournament selection committee will assess Duke based on the overall body of work but will mostly consider what team they're getting on Selection Sunday β with Williamson healthy or not.
Williamson, who suffered a Grade 1 right knee sprain in the Blue Devils' midweek loss to North Carolina, was ruled out for Saturday's game and is listed at day-to-day.
Syracuse's All-American candidate player, Tyus Battle, struggled to get things going offensively like he did in Syracuse's first win over Duke on Jan. 14 β when he had 32 points in the overtime win. Battle finished with 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting from the floor on Saturday to pace the Orange (18-9, 9-5 ACC).