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A pair of coaches with nearly 2,000 wins between them face off on Saturday when the Syracuse Orange visit the Duke Blue Devils.
While the game is very important, especially to Duke, the storyline is the fact that the two men’s Division I coaches with the most wins will be meeting in this game. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has 1,007 career victories, while his Saturday opponent, Syracuse head man Jim Boeheim, has won 965 games in his career.
As for the game itself, Duke is trying to earn a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament and must continue winning to do so. The Blue Devils are 25-3 this year, including a 12-3 mark in the ACC. Duke has won eight straight games after opening league play at 4-3.
Freshman Jahlil Okafor leads Duke, scoring 18.4 points per game and grabbing 9.4 rebounds per contest.
Quinn Cook averages 15.9 points for Duke, while Justise Winslow (12 points per game) and Tyus Jones (11.5 ppg) are also averaging in double figures.
Syracuse has imposed a postseason ban on the team for this season, so the Orange are playing the last two weeks like it’s their postseason. However, it hasn’t gone well for Boeheim and his team. They have lost six of their last 11 games and now stand at 18-10 overall and 9-6 in the league.
The bright spot for Syracuse this season has been the play of big man Rakeem Christmas, who is averaging 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Trevor Cooney averages 13.5 points, while Michael Gbinije scores 13 points per outing.
In all reality, this game shouldn’t be very close. Duke is the better team, has a lot to play for and is playing at home.
Final score prediction: Duke 78, Syracuse 64
Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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