How does this keep happening? How much crazy stuff can happen in one year? How can we keep expecting it to happen? And in a year that so much crazy stuff has happened, doesn’t that Duke game top it all?

In a year full of double digit comebacks and things that Jim Boeheim says are only supposed to happen once, isn’t this game the weirdest? The one where the Orange came back from 9 down in the second half against one of the hottest teams in the country. The one where the Orange got nothing out of their top two scoring options. The one where the Orange got another offensive outburst from their mercurial point guard who’s play often determines whether it’s a good night or a bad night for SU. The one where that up and down point guard spans have the court in two seconds to pull up and launch a bank-shot buzzer beating three to sink the Duke Blue Devils.

Yup, that one tops it all.

This game tops the 43 points and a near impossible looking buzzer beater by John Gillon, probably because that team fired their coach. This game tops the 19-2 run to start the second half against Virginia to form a comeback reminiscent of last year’s Elite 8 performance.

This was ridiculous. It was a game against a team rounding into form as one that’s a legit national title contender and preseason number one. This game was against a team that has three legit scoring options that can all beat you on their own on any night, let alone when they play together. This was a game where your top two scoring options were held to a combined 18 points.

But somehow, someway, the Orange fought through it and pulled off a win.

John Gillon and Tyus Battle scored 44 combined points. Outscoring Duke’s high scoring combination of Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen by 13 points. Andrew White and Tyler Lydon combined for one fewer point than Jayson Tatum had alone!

And somehow, Syracuse pulled this off.

Gillon corralled a looping, lazy pass from Battle at his own free throw line with 4.5 seconds on the clock. He had to jump just to get it. Then sped down court. Covering half the court in 2.5 second before pulling up roughly 5 feet beyond the three point arc. In triple coverage. Only to hang, and somehow manage to release it four-tenths of a second later. The clanks off the center of the square, the way young kids are taught to shoot layups. And banks in just after the buzzer sounds.

Sending the Dome into pandemonium. A frenzied state not often seen, even in this wild world of sports.  Sending grown men along with students pouring onto the court to celebrate with their Orange.

Creating the loudest noise I have ever heard. The roar of 30,331 people, a wild crowd on a weekday night. Many places lay claim to the loudest arena, but that’s only because there wasn’t a decibel reader in the Dome on Wednesday night.