DURHAM, N.C. _ It's the ACC's nouveau rivalry, born out of television and expansion rather than geography and tradition.
The 10th game between Duke and Syracuse since the Orange joined the ACC in 2013 was set up as a continuation of the revelry on Saturday night. ESPN's GameDay would be joining an anticipated crowd of 36,000 to watch Zion Williamson and his band of freshmen brothers seek revenge for a Syracuse overtime win at Duke last month.
In the span of a couple of hours Wednesday night, that all came unraveled.
In Durham, Williamson blew out his Nike shoe and sprained his right knee 34 seconds into No. 1 Duke's 88-72 loss to No. 8 North Carolina.
In Syracuse, Orange coach Jim Boeheim was involved in a traffic accident on a dark interstate highway that left a pedestrian, 51-year-old Jorge Jimenez, dead.
Even though no charges have been filed in the investigation and police officials don't expect any to be, ESPN pulled its signature weekly celebration of the sport away from the Duke-Syracuse game.
Boeheim, 74, will coach the 6 p.m. game, Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said in a statement on Friday.
"This is a very difficult time," Wildhack said. "I know that coach Boeheim's players gain strength from him, just as he gains strength from his players. Our entire community gains strength from each other. With this in mind, and after thoughtful consideration, I have respectfully decided coach Boeheim will resume his coaching activities and will coach in (Saturday) night's game with Duke. We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to the Jimenez family as they continue to mourn this tragic loss."
The 6-7 freshman Williamson is listed as day-to-day but isn't expected to play just three days into his recovery. Stadium reporter Jeff Goodman cited a source when he reported Friday that Williamson is definitely not playing. A Duke spokesman wouldn't confirm or deny the report.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Thursday night on his SiriusXM radio show that all caution will be taken before returning Williamson, a leading candidate for national player of the year, to competition.
"There's no rush," Krzyzewski said. "You want to make sure he's completely at 100 percent. We know we're an NCAA (Tournament) team. We've won 23 games with great competition, and we're going to keep moving on, but we want to be _ want to make sure we're at 100 percent when we enter that one-and-done period called March Madness."
So, for the second time this season, Duke (23-3, 11-2 ACC) prepares to face Syracuse (18-8, 9-4) likely missing a starter.
