The Blue Devils did not play well in the first half against Syracuse, four players were in foul trouble, and it was 0-of-9 from 3-point range.
A 34-year old streak was in jeopardy if Duke could not get a triple to drop in the second half, but the questions surrounding that streak ended very quickly.
Jared McCain, who has been the Blue Devils’ best shooter over the last month, hit a 3-pointer on Duke’s first possession of the second half which extended the consecutive games played with at least one 3-pointer made to 1,202 games.
UNLV only has more at 1,203 straight games.
The last time Duke did not make a single 3-pointer in a game was December 30, 1989 in a 87-75 victory over Hawaii. The Blue Devils would fall in the National Championship that season to UNLV in dominant fashion.
While this year’s version of the Blue Devils is hoping to advance that far in the NCAA Tournament, they at least fended off an upset bid from the Orange in the first half and showed an offensive firepower that not many Duke teams have shown in program history.
Jon Scheyer’s squad shot 75-percent from the floor in the second half (18-for-24) and not only was the first 3-pointer of the half made for the Blue Devils, the next seven attempts also dropped.
Duke was 8-for-8 in the second half from 3-point range as it put 51 points on the scoreboard after halftime in its 86-66 victory.
According to the team, it was the first time in program history that Duke did not make a 3-pointer in the first half which was followed by not missing a shot from 3-point range in the second half.
It was also the most made 3-pointers in a half without a miss in team history.
No. 14 Duke (10-4, 1-1 ACC) will look to continue its hot shooting on Saturday night (6:00 p.m. ET, ACC Network) against Notre Dame (6-7, 1-1 ACC).
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