OMAHA, Neb. _ Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was right.
Syracuse had gotten better offensively since the last time the Blue Devils and the Orange played on Feb. 24, a 60-44 win for Duke in Durham.
On this night, though, Duke and Syracuse were locked for the entire game. But Duke answered Syracuse's comeback attempt with some clutch buckets and free throws.
It almost didn't happen that way. Senior guard Grayson Allen missed his second of two free-throw attempts with about 11 seconds left in the game. Syracuse was down by 3 points and had a chance to tie it. But Allen made the smart play by fouling Syracuse's leading scorer, Tyus Battle, before he could get a chance to put up a 3-point shot. He missed the second of two free throws.
Freshman guard Gary Trent Jr. hit two free throws on the next possession to put the game out of reach, and the Blue Devils beat the Orange, 69-65, in the Sweet 16 at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb.
No. 2-seeded Duke (29-7) advances to its first Elite 8 since 2015, when it won a national championship. Its opponent will be the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, Kansas (30-7), which beat Clemson earlier Friday, 80-76.
While it wasn't quite like the first matchup in Durham, the game was slow-paced and easy shots were hard to come by.
Duke had a tough time shooting the 3-ball. In the first game the Blue Devils shot 2 for 18. In this game, Duke shot 5 for 26 from behind the 3-point line.
Syracuse led by a few points at a time in the first half. But after trailing by three points with 5:20 left, Duke ended the half on a 10-0 run to go up by seven points at the break. After that, Duke never trailed.
In the second half, the Blue Devils started slow, and the Orange scored four consecutive points, causing Krzyzewski to call a timeout and take off his jacket. It didn't necessarily work. Syracuse cut the lead to one point multiple times, before Duke finally went on a 10-2 run midway through the second half.
Trent knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner. Duke forced Syracuse into a 10-second violation, then finished the run with a 3-pointer from the wing from Allen.
Syracuse was able to cut the lead to three points with 1:20 left in the game after Syracuse freshman forward Oshae Brissett's two-point shot. But Trent answered with a layup to put the Blue Devils back up by five points with 51.7 seconds remaining.
Syracuse had the opportunity to tie it at the end of the game but could not, and Duke advanced to the Elite 8.
