The first time Syracuse played Duke as a member of the ACC, it was billed as the game of the season. A then record-breaking crowd of over 35,000 packed into the Dome to watch 2nd-ranked SU take on 17th-ranked Duke.
In case you don’t remember, the game featured a buzzer-beating three to force overtime and a blocked dunk to secure an Orange victory. If possible, it actually surpassed the hype.
One of the biggest takeaways from that game was the record-setting crowd. However, maybe even more impressive was the fan support in Central New York for that 2013-14 season as a whole. The smallest crowd in the Dome that season was 19,473 against High Point University during SU’s winter break.
Skip ahead to this season, 19,473 would be the third-largest crowd of the year (entering tonight’s game). Why are fans not coming in? What happened?...