The arena was filled from top to bottom with Duke fans, anticipating another instant classic against their team's newest rival.
The problem was, Syracuse didn't come ready for another prize fight.
The Syracuse offense was no match for the swarming Duke defense. The Orange (18-11, 9-7 ACC) shot a season-low 30.6 percent from the field and fell flat in Cameron Indoor Stadium for a 73-54 defeat on Saturday night.
"You've got to make shots to beat or to be in the game with the fourth ranked team in the country," Jim Boeheim said.
It was Syracuse's most lopsided loss this season, while its 54 points were the third fewest total.
Tyler Roberson led Syracuse with 16 points on a night when his team's offense had balance, but lacked depth. Four players scored in double figures for the Orange, yet only two points came from its bench (a Ron Patterson basket) and none from Kaleb Joseph. B.J. Johnson's recent scoring surge came to a halt as he was shut out and shot 0-4.
Rakeem Christmas was, again, ineffective in the matchup between the best big men in the ACC. In the first half, he only got off two shot attempts and scored five points. Christmas started the second half by scoring his team's first six points, a good sign until he was cut short by foul trouble. He fouled out with 9:42 left in the game and only scored 11 points.
"We had trouble getting him the ball," Boeheim said. "They did a better job of keeping us from getting him the ball and I don't think he was as good in rebounding and blocking shots as he was in Syracuse (against Duke)."
And Syracuse's most dangerous threat in the first game this year against Duke team cooled off as well. Michael Gbinije, who scored 27 against his former team a few weeks ago, was held to a 5-20 shooting night. Gbinije had plenty of openings, but came up short under the pressure of the hostile Duke crowd. He was part of a 3-point shooting rotation that hurt more than helped Syracuse, who was desperate to find any means of offense.
For Duke, Justise Winslow scored a career-high 23 points, while Quinn Cook had 17 and Jahlil Okafor added 13.
The loss was one of the most embarrassing showings for the Orange, even in what's been a down year. It was only Syracuse's second loss in the last three months by more than ten points. That hasn't happened since Jan. 17 when the Orange lost by a score of 66-53 in Clemson.
The Orange came into the game having beaten a top-12 team twice in the last three games, but didn't show up on Saturday night with nearly the same level of play. It wasn't nearly enough of a match for the high-flying Blue Devils who rolled off their ninth win in a row.
A rivalry that began in Year One with a pair of legendary games ends in Year Two with a pair of let-downs.
All that's left for Syracuse is two games it must win to extend its streak of 20-win seasons and no postseason light at the end of the tunnel.
Said Boeheim, "The season ends every year and it's never pretty. Except for one year. It's always difficult."