No. 1 Orange, No. 5 Blue Devils meet coming off losses

This was supposed to be the encore of college basketball’s game of the year, matching two top-five teams in No. 1 Syracuse and No. 5  Duke and the winningest men’s coaches in Division I history. It’s also a meeting of teams trying to avoid a losing streak. Both the Orange and Blue Devils stumbled ahead of their rematch today ( 4 p.m., ESPN) in the first visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium for coach Jim Boeheim’s team. The midweek losses by Syracuse (25-1, 12-1 ACC) and Duke (21-6, 10-4) may have taken some luster off the matchup. They’ve also made it more important in the ACC race because neither team can afford another defeat. – AP