Duke begins practice in Omaha, awaits Orange

OMAHA, Neb. (WTVD) -- Duke will appear in the Sweet 16 for the 26th time in school history on Friday.

The No. 2 seed Blue Devils will face No. 11 seed Syracuse in the late game Friday approximately 9:37 p.m.

Friday's matchup with Syracuse is a rematch of a game won by 16 points about a month ago.

All parties involved agree that both teams are vastly different.

Marvin Bagley III said he likes the matchup.

The NCAA, as it likes to do, has made some changes in terms of practice-day access.

ABC11's Joe Mazur is in Omaha covering the Duke Blue Devils as they prepare for Friday's game against Syracuse.

The biggest change being no fans in the stands.

The sessions Thursday are also not open to the public.

Additionally, the media is only allowed to watch the first 15 minutes of practice.

These changes are to allow the teams to practice more in the venue in which they'll play, without prying eyes.

Syracuse may have been a bubble team, but once they get in, they are hard to get out of the NCAA tournament.

Last year Syracuse made it all the way to the Final Four as a 10 seed before falling to UNC.

Five times this decade the Orange have reached at least the Sweet 16.