Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament resume got a massive boost on Wednesday night when John Gillon banked in a game-winning 3-point buzzer-beater to lift the Orange (17-12, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) to a 78-75 win over No. 10 Duke (22-6, 10-5) in the instant classic. SU snapped a three-game losing streak and battled back from facing a double-digit deficit for the seventh straight game.

Here are three things we learned from the game.

Syracuse can win without Tyler Lydon or Andrew White

If you were to build an imaginary scouting report for Syracuse’s offense, it wouldn’t take much research to determine that Lydon and White are the focal points of SU’s offense. The fifth-year senior is averaging 17.5 points per game, and the 6-foot-9 sophomore averages 13.5 points each contest. But on Wednesday, the Orange didn’t have the usual amount of fuel it receives from its top scorers.

Lydon still chipped in 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, but White mustered only seven points on four shots in his second-lowest scoring performance of the season. This season, the duo has combined to score 41 percent of SU’s points this season. On Wednesday they scored only 23 percent.

Riding 26 points from Gillon, 18 from Tyus Battle and 11 from Taurean Thompson, the Orange proved itself capable on offense without its best shooters. Specifically with White, Syracuse showed it can beat an elite team without him or anyone else in a groove from 3.

“Everybody can score and put the ball in the hoop,” Thompson said. “If (White) ain’t going, we’ll get other people involved to open him up.

“…He’s not our only scorer.”

The Orange can respond to a knock down shooter

Duke’s Luke Kennard shot 5-of-9 from 3 and seemingly had an answer for every big Syracuse shot. All season, an issue for the Orange had been limiting opponents from deep. Pittsburgh’s Cameron Johnson (6-of-8 from 3), Virginia’s Kyle Guy (4-of-6 from 3) and North Carolina State’s Maverick Rowan (8-of-18) were the three most recent ones, but the list goes on. And Kennard joined it on Wednesday.

In the second half, Kennard pushed Duke’s lead to nine a minute after the break. Then he pushed it to five two minutes later. Kennard hit a 3 to put Duke up, 59-58. Each time, Syracuse scored on the following possession.

With eight seconds left, Kennard had one last chance to sink the Orange. He pulled up for a mid-range jumper in search of his 24th and 25th points of the night. The ball rimmed out and it led to Gillon’s memorable game-winner.

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MORE COVERAGE

• Gallery: Syracuse’s upset victory over No. 10 Duke
• The Final Word: Syracuse stuns No. 10 Duke, 78-75
• Tyus Battle scores 18 points in Syracuse’s 78-75 upset win over No. 10 Duke
• Syracuse upsets No. 10 Duke with John Gillon’s buzzer-beating banked 3

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“Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard were pretty darn good,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “They had 31 and John (Gillon) and Tyus (Battle) had 44. That’s pretty big numbers.”

Especially after last year, Boeheim wants no part of the NCAA Tournament buzz this season

For a Syracuse team that’s struggled so mightily at times this season, Wednesday marked the third time a Top 10 team lost in the Carrier Dome this season. SU’s rather stunning, polarizing NCAA Tournament resume features losses to teams like St. John’s and Boston College, counteracted by wins against elite opponents like Florida State, Virginia and now Duke.

Boeheim has never attempted to guess his team’s NCAA Tournament fate. He knows it’s all a guessing game, and there’s no telling how much the Orange will be hampered by its failures on the road. But the unpredictable season harkens back to a similar bumpy ride taken by SU last year.

Published on February 23, 2017 at 12:15 am

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds