Syracuse (23-13, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) is in the Sweet 16.

Improbably, the Orange made the NCAA Tournament. And now, they’ve won their last three tournament games, including two upset wins over No. 6 TCU and No. 3 Michigan State to advance to the final 16 of the NCAA tournament.

A familiar foe awaits in No. 2 seed Duke (30-7, 13-5). Duke crushed Syracuse, 60-44, when the two teams met at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 24. The pair will meet again in Omaha, Nebraska with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.

Here’s 10 fun facts about the Blue Devils.

1. Krzyzewskiville

Named after head coach Mike Krzyzewski, this area outside Cameron Indoor Stadium is one of Duke’s most famous traditions. It all started in 1986 when students camped out two nights before a Duke-North Carolina game in tents and waiting to get in.

Now, Duke has a Line Monitor Committee of Student Government that chooses the tenting games for each season. Tenting begins in early January, and there are rules for how many people must be in the tent at one time. One tent can hold no more than 12 spots. If the committee catches you violating the rules, your tent is out, and you won’t be able to get in to Duke’s next home game in 9,000-seat Cameron Indoor.

2. You can’t see me

In 2012, researchers at Duke found a way to hide a small object from all waves that can be seen by the human eye, creating the first perfectly invisible cloak. It’s only worked so far on small objects, per a press release.

3. Leaping lemurs!

Excluding Madagascar, Duke’s Lemur Center is the largest and most diverse collection of Lemurs in the world. The center is home to more than 240 rare Lemurs. The Lemurs are the world’s most endangered mammal, with 91 percent of 103 known species threatened. They are held for research, preservation and visitation, and tours are offered year round.

4. Familiar foes

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim have been coaching for a long time. Krzyzewski has been at Duke for 38 seasons and has 1,099 wins. Boeheim is the longest tenured coach in the NCAA with 42 seasons at Syracuse and has tallied 926 wins. The two both have three gold medals, coaching together on the U.S. Men’s Basketball team in 2008, 2012, and 2016.

5. Burning the benches

Court storming isn’t allowed in Cameron Indoor Stadium. So Duke students found a different way to celebrate victories: burning benches. This tradition started during a Duke-Louisville National Championship in 1986, according to the Duke University Library. When the Blue Devils lost to Louisville, students took their anger out on the benches.

Now, it’s a tradition that every win over UNC is followed by a bonfire on Abele Quad.

6. Tobacco road

Everyone knows the rivalry Duke has with North Carolina, it’s one of the fiercest in all of college hoops. But North Carolina State is also a part of the three-school “Tobacco Road” rivalry. These three schools are separated by less than 25 miles, with UNC and Duke just 9.8 miles apart. The rivalry is named after tobacco because North Carolina is the nation’s leading tobacco producer.

And no, before you ask, Syracuse and Duke are not rivals.

7. The best NBA coach that never was

In his time as both Duke head coach and United States national team coach, Krzyzewski has coached 105 NBA players. He’s never coached in the NBA himself, but as of 2016, Krzyzewski has coached more NBA players than 90 percent of the coaches in NBA history, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

8. It’s all about the tobacco, again

Duke was established by the Methodists and Quakers in 1838. The university is named after the father of the tobacco industry, James B. Duke. He later gave the school $40 million in 1924 to help with the endowment.

9. Duke weddings

Much like the demand for basketball games, the demand to have a wedding in Duke’s iconic Chapel is high. Since weddings can only be booked one year in advance in the Chapel, couples will often camp out the night before the first day of a busy month to ensure they are the first ones to sign up for popular dates.

10. Secret societies

The Old Trinity Club is the most visible secret society on the campus today. Members can be spotted wearing black graduation gowns and sunglasses some days of the year. They hold their arms in the air and shout out “Eruditio et Religio,” Latin for Duke’s motto: “Erudition and Religion.”

Published on March 21, 2018 at 10:07 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo