Duke’s RJ Barrett (5) and Jack White (41) defend while Syracuse’s Elijah Hughes (33) drives to the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Jan. 14, 2019.
(AP)
NCAA's unranked Syracuse– who just lost to Georgia Tech two days ago– on Monday stunned No. 1 Duke 95-91, in a thrilling OT at Durham's Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The game featured just about everything: Syracuse was down by 12 to start, one of Syracuse's stars nailed a beyond-half-court buzzer beater to end the half and Duke's star put on an offensive clinic. Duke was missing two starters, Cameron Reddish and point guard Tre Jones, but Syracuse's victory was still unexpected.
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"When you get two guys hurt and injured, there is no game plan anymore," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Our game plan was to pick them up full-court, put pressure on the ball, and that was working pretty well. Then, you're trying to survive, really."
Though Syracuse had trailed for most of the game, they climbed their way back from a 12-point deficit in early the first quarter and then from being down 8 points in the second half, before tying 85-85 to force OT. Monday's upset was the top-ranked team's first home loss as a No. 1 team to an opponent other than North Carolina.
Duke's Zion Williamson had a career-high 35 points and 10 rebounds but was matched by Syracuse's Tyus Battle who had 32 points. Syracuse's Paschal Chukwu had 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds while Elijah Hughes added 20 points including a buzzer-beater from behind half court.
"When that shot went in," Williamson said of Elijah Hughes' shot, according to ESPN. "It just showed what kind of night it was for them. It seemed like everything they threw up was just bottom of the net. They just hit a lot of shots."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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