Observations from SU’s 86-66 loss to Duke: 2nd half breakdown, Mark Mitchell’s career night

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Syracuse entered Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday on a five-game winning streak, most recently obtaining its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the season. Led by a tremendous 52-point production from its bench, SU defeated Pittsburgh 81-73 on Dec. 30.

Yet, in search of clinching its first Quad 1 win since the 2020-21 season, Syracuse fell flat. An encouraging first-half performance, which saw the Orange trail just 35-33 at half, morphed drastically into an unsalvageable difference.

After Duke produced 0-for-9 from range across the opening 20 minutes, the Blue Devils unleashed a barrage of 3s in the second half. They finished on 47.1% perimeter shooting overall and went a perfect 8-for-8 rate to end the contest.

Here are some observations from Syracuse (10-4, 1-2 ACC) 86-66 away loss to No. 14 Duke (10-3, 1-1 ACC) :

Copeland’s magic sizzles out

Toeing the right-wing arc, Quadir Copeland canned just his second 3-point make of the season four minutes into Tuesday’s contest. The first came a few days ago on Dec. 30 when Copeland notched a career-high 22 points against Pittsburgh.

After forward Chris Bell picked up a pair of early fouls, Copeland was called in and made an instant impact. The 3-pointer brought SU within 7-4, while a flurry of aggressive and purposeful drives injected confidence within the Orange.

Defensively, Copeland guarded anyone from Duke guards Jeremy Roach, Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor to freshman forward Sean Stewart. He communicated switches effectively and forced contested jumpers.

By the time Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer called a timeout at the 6:58 mark, Copeland’s point total had not changed since his first 3. However, SU’s backup guard — the reigning ACC Player of the Week — had picked up a couple rebounds, steals and an assist.

Then, with a little over three minutes left before the break, Copeland drove baseline and dumped off to Maliq Brown for a thunderous jam. Duke’s first-half lead dwindled to 29-27.

But in the second half, everything changed. The Blue Devils forced Copeland into ill-advised shots and errant passes. He picked up four turnovers and scored just six points on 2-for-9 shooting. By crowding the paint and rushing Syracuse’s spark plug, Duke put an end to Copeland’s energy — a trait which has fueled each of the Orange’s last five wins.

A tale of two halves

Across its opening 12 games, 56.4 percent of Duke’s shot attempts came from inside the arc. The Blue Devils liked going inside to their big men for close-range attempts. And by halftime, this trend held true.

Still in pursuit of its first conference win this season, 26 of Duke’s 35 first-half points arrived inside the paint. Eight more were collected from the free-throw line. Dunks, floaters and layups all fell for the home side at a fairly efficient 37.14% rate.

Yet, the second half told a completely different story — one which punched Syracuse in the mouth and rendered it quiet. With a little under 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Blue Devils embarked on a 13-2 run, going a perfect 6-for-6 from 3 in the process.

The downpour of outside makes started on a Jared McCain splash from the left wing. Then, he converted a pair of 3’s which sandwiched a Proctor 3 in transition. Roach hit one from deep in the left corner and a once-35-33 Duke advantage ballooned to an insurmountable margin. Throughout the final 20 minutes, the Blue Devils knocked down all eight of their 3-point attempts.

The final, 20-point-blowout defeat was also a product of 17 Syracuse turnovers. Committing costly mistakes on the fast break and coughing up possession deep in the paint, Syracuse conceded a season-worst 26 points off of turnovers.

Mitchell’s monster game

Mark Mitchell’s 3-pointer from the left corner was slightly short. The last time he had made a shot from outside was Nov. 17 in a 90-60 win over Bucknell. Mitchell musters a lowly .045 precent from 3. Yet, the ill-advised attempt, oddly, made sense. Everything else had gone his way thus far.

Capping off a scintillating opening half with a two-handed flush, Mitchell notched 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting throughout his first 17 minutes of play. He shouldered the weight of Duke’s frontcourt scoring after Kyle Filipowski mustered zero with two fouls in seven minutes of play. Engaged on both ends of the floor, Mitchell cut decisively for comfortable lefty layups and never shied away from making contact with SU center Naheem McLeod.

He chased after loose-balls and jostled to clear out a space in the lane. His presence resulted in a multitude of easy finishes and a new career-high of 21 points.