Familiar issues doom struggling Duke to a third straight loss

Mike Krzyzewski finally has ammunition to counter those who insist Duke gets every call at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Unfortunately for Krzyzewski, the price of proving that point was yet another loss.

When Duke guard Matt Jones sped up court with only a couple of ticks left on the clock and his team behind by two points, Syracuse's Trevor Cooney recognized his team had a foul to give and appeared to attempt to use it. Jones heaved a three-quarters court prayer as Cooney ran into him, but the referees made no call and the Orange escaped with a 64-62 victory.

Krzyzewski also wanted a call on the previous possession when Jones and Syracuse's Malachi Richardson collided vying for a rebound. That no call appeared correct since both players got to the ball at almost exactly the same time, but Krzyzewski didn't see it that way.

"The last play was amazing," he told reporters in Durham. "Have you seen it? Go see it. Literally amazing."

Whether the late calls were correct or not, Krzyzewski's team clearly has bigger issues than the officiating.

While Syracuse won its third straight game since Jim Boeheim's return from a nine-game suspension, Duke is mired in its first three-game losing streak since Feb. 2007 and its first three-game losing streak against unranked opponents since 1969. The shorthanded Blue Devils have now lost to Syracuse, Notre Dame and Clemson in the past six days, dropping their ACC record to 3-3 with six games still left to play against Top 25 opponents.

Duke's biggest issue is a lack of interior depth with starting power forward Amile Jefferson still sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury. Syracuse bludgeoned the undersized Blue Devils on the offensive glass, gobbling up 26 offensive rebounds including 12 by power forward Tyler Roberson alone.

Vastly improved Duke big man Marshall Plumlee played with heart and tenacity while collecting 19 points and 17 rebounds, but he had little help either on the glass or protecting the rim. Plumlee logged 38 minutes and freshman forward Brandon Ingram logged 40 because Krzyzewski apparently does not trust any of his reserve big men to play meaningful minutes in ACC play, leaving the Blue Devils with just a six-man rotation.

Struggling McDonald's All-American Chase Jeter did not get off the bench for the second game in a row after fouling out in four minutes against Clemson. Rice transfer Sean Obi spelled Plumlee for one minute in both halves, but the only impact he made on the game was fumbling a pass from Derryck Thornton out of bounds for a turnover.

It's understandable that Krzyzewski won't play either Jeter or Obi since neither appears anywhere near ready to contribute against high-level competition, yet Duke's lack of quality depth is also a huge reason it's not winning. If neither Jeter nor Obi are playing, how are they supposed to develop?

Duke might have been able to overcome its rebounding and defensive issues had it attacked Syracuse's trademark 2-3 zone with more success, but it was here that the Blue Devils' other primary issue reared its head. They don't have a point guard to organize their offense with Tyus Jones entering the draft last spring and Thornton struggling to make smart decisions with the ball in his hands.

Instead of playing through the high post or trying to find gaps in Syracuse's zone off the dribble, Duke settled for far too many 3-pointers. They shot 10-for-37 from behind the arc and got little offense in the paint besides put-backs from Plumlee.

The last Duke team that endured a three-game losing streak lost 10 games before the NCAA tournament and then fell in the opening round against VCU.

Unless Jefferson returns or some meaningful frontcourt depth emerges, these Blue Devils could be headed toward a similar finish.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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