Syracuse, N.Y. -- In just four seasons, the Syracuse and Duke basketball series has piled up memorable moments. There was overtime in their first ACC meeting, and there was Jim Boeheim tossing his sport coat and there was Wednesday night, when the never-say-die Orange moved closer to an NCAA Tournament bid with yet another comeback and yet another buzzer-beating game-winner from point guard John Gillon.

Students camp outside in Syracuse winters in order to get the best seats when the teams meet. The game that hasn't drawn fewer than 30,000 fans to the Carrier Dome. The series is now tied at 3 since Syracuse joined the conference.

The sixth ACC game between the two featured the Syracuse crowd spitting venom at guard Grayson Allen and Jayson Tatum shushing the Carrier Dome crowd after a big jumper.

When it was over, the Syracuse student body rushed the court, knocking down chairs as they hurried to celebrate a 78-75 win.

In the face of all that, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski tossed some cold water on the idea that the two programs are on the verge of blooming into rivals.

"I don't think it's a rivalry," Krzyzewski said. "I think every game in this league, everybody has a rivalry with us. Everybody wants to beat us. It's been that way for 25 years. That's the human nature I live in. I have to be ready for that, and I have to have my teams ready for that."

Perhaps part of the reason Krzyzewski feels this way, he admitted, is his affinity for Boeheim. Late in his press conference Krzyzewski, largely unprompted, offered praise and appreciation for his Olympic assistant.

"I love Syracuse and obviously I love Jim and his family," Krzyzewski said. "Congratulations to him. You don't know what a treasure you have with him. ... He's brilliant, competitive, loyal and he doesn't need his ego scratched. He's humble. I love the guy and I'll be forever grateful for him. It's hard for me to think of a rivalry with Jim or Syracuse."

Afterward, Krzyzewski mixed praise of this year's Orange team with comments about the challenges he faced in getting his own team to match their desperation.

He acknowledged Syracuse's offensive flurry is well within its regular capabilities, but also discussed the motivational challenges involved in leading a team who has won seven consecutive games, whose postseason spot is already secure, and who has a pair of starters nursing injuries.

"We're in the tournament," Krzyzewski said. "They're trying to get in. Hopefully they are in. During this time you're going to face teams that inherently are hungrier than you. You have to try to be as hungry. That's a challenge. It's more of a challenge when we're playing guys that are hurt. There's a part of them that would only like to do so much to win. It's not a bad attitude. It's just human nature. We're not desperate right now. We're not going to be desperate, no matter what happens, because we're going to be in the tournament. That's called psychology. It's tough to beat that. It's human nature."

Still, motivated or not, the Blue Devils followed their defensive game plan throughout. They switched every screen and pressured the 3-point dependant Orange off the arc, holding SU to a season-low 11 3-point attempts.

Syracuse's top two scoring options, Andrew White and Tyler Lydon, combined for just 10 shots, as Duke forced the Orange to turn to John Gillon, Tyus Battle and Taurean Thompson for its offense.

The Blue Devils dominated the on the boards and, if not for some poorly run fast-breaks would have built am even larger first-half edge. It was there, he insisted, that the Blue Devils lost the game. Duke needed to put the game away early.

Instead, it provided time for the best version of the Orange to emerge, the one that's come out whenever Syracuse has been fueled by desperation and a home crowd. The Orange found the same offensive gear that's allowed them to topple Florida State and Virginia.

Syracuse erased a nine-point second-half lead and banked in a pair of late 3-pointers, including the game-winner as the clock expired. It was remarkable, the type of stunning finish that forms the foundation of college basketball's great rivalries.

In the euphoric aftermath it was easy to get carried away. Krzyzewski brought it all quickly back to earth.

"The end of game was not unexpected to me because we didn't manage the entire game," Krzyzewski said. "The basketball Gods do that. I always believe in them. If we played better, there wouldn't have been a last shot. God bless them for hitting it. How could it be more exciting than that? It's terrific. But we could have done better."