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Syracuse began its season in unconvincing fashion Tuesday, defeating Le Moyne 86-82. The Orange trailed by five at halftime and needed to score 50 points across the final 20 minutes to avoid a shocking defeat. Jyare Davis’ double-double (22 points 12 rebounds) paced SU, while Chris Bell added 20 points.

“We would love to play better, but you’re not always going to play good, that’s the reality,” SU head coach Adrian Autry said postgame. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against. Le Moyne did a great job, they came in here and battled.”

Next up for Syracuse is a familiar face in Colgate. Across their three matchups since 2021, the Raiders beat the Orange twice — notching the program’s first wins against SU since the 1960s. Colgate has won the last four Patriot League championships, but it lost significant production from last year’s squad.

Here’s everything to know about Colgate (1-1, Patriot League) ahead of its matchup with Syracuse (1-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) Tuesday:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 128-47.

Last time they played …

Syracuse came back from down 24 points in the second half to defeat Colgate 78-74 on Nov. 14, 2023. It was SU’s largest come-from-behind victory since 1998. The Raiders knocked down eight first-half 3-pointers to gain a 54-30 lead before the Orange outscored them 49-25 over the final 16:32 to come out with a win.

Bell led the way with a game-high 25 points, going 6-of-14 from 3-point range. Judah Mintz got to the free-throw line 14 times, totaling 23 points. While Mintz and Bell spearheaded the comeback, the Orange’s defense was key, holding Colgate to a 1-for-9 clip from long range in the second half.

KenPom Odds

Syracuse has a 91% chance of winning, with a projected score of 85-70.

The Raiders report

Colgate is coming off its second 25-plus win season in a row, in which it made the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight time. The Raiders defeated Lehigh in the Patriot League championship before a blowout loss to Baylor ended their season. Since then, Colgate’s roster has undergone complete reconstruction.

Its three top scorers from last season, Braeden Smith, Keegan Records and Ryan Moffatt, all departed. None of the Raiders’ returning players averaged more than 7.5 points per game last season. Instead of dipping into the transfer portal to acquire new talent, head coach Matt Langel has relied on developing the players already on his roster.

Through two games, center Jeff Woodward has been Colgate’s go-to player, averaging 15.5 points per game. Additionally, guards Nicolas Louis-Jacques and Jalen Cox have upped their scoring averages by six and five points, respectively.

Despite the personnel change, Colgate still shoots an uncanny amount of 3-pointers. The Raiders attempted 21.11 3s per game last season and, albeit with a small sample size, they’re averaging 29 attempts through two games. However, Colgate has only connected on 25.9% of its looks from beyond the arc.

Alex Levy | Design Editor

How Syracuse beats Colgate

SU must not start sluggishly. Against Le Moyne, the Orange shot under 32% from the field in the first half, while the Dolphins hit 47% of their shots. The lackadaisical start allowed Le Moyne to hang around all game. If Syracuse doesn’t want to sweat another one out, it needs to start Tuesday’s game with more urgency.

Shutting down Colgate’s 3-point attack will also be crucial, but the Orange have to show they can knock down 3s of their own. Syracuse’s 4-for-22 mark against Le Moyne simply isn’t good enough. Outside of Bell, no SU player knocked down multiple triples, a common trend from last season.

Syracuse can’t be uber-reliant on Bell to be its lone source of scoring from the outside. Against Colgate, the backcourt of J.J. Starling and Jaquan Carlos need to provide shooting relief. If they can knock down looks from the outside, it’ll open up the paint for Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Davis to go to work and make SU’s offense flow.

Stat to know: 46

In Colgate’s last three matchups with Syracuse, it knocked down 46 3-pointers. In 2021, the Raiders sank 18 in a 100-85 win. Then, it connected with 19 to defeat SU in 2022. Colgate cooled off in its most recent meeting with Syracuse, knocking down nine, eight of which came in the first half.

Across those three games, Colgate attempted 106 total triples, knocking them down at a 43% clip. The Raiders aren’t a team to shy away from deep range. Over the past three seasons, the Raiders ranked either second or first in the Patriot League for 3-point attempts.

Player to watch: Jeff Woodward, center, No. 55

Woodward is by far the most experienced player on Colgate’s roster, appearing in 120 games across five seasons for the Raiders. Woodward had a career-high 18 starts in 2024, where he averaged 7.2 points per game while shooting 62.5% from the field.

The center isn’t the most ball-dominant player SU will face this season, though he provides a challenge for its bigs, standing at 6-foot-10. Woodward has an array of post moves down low, which Lampkin and Davis will have to combat.

Published on November 11, 2024 at 10:39 pm

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