Syracuse will look to take care of visiting Colgate on Saturday before heading to the Bahamas next week.
The Orange (2-0) have opened the season by shooting 54.9 percent and hitting 50 percent of their 3-pointers in double-digit wins over Lafayette and Drexel, as Joe Girard III has made all eight of his 3-point attempts. Syracuse posted a 97-63 rout of Lafayette in its season opener on Nov. 9 and needed a strong second half to get a 75-60 win over Drexel on Sunday.
After facing a one-point deficit at the half against Drexel, the Orange shot nearly 63 percent after halftime when it outscored Drexel 43-27. Buddy Boeheim scored 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting while brother Jimmy Boeheim added 14.
“I thought we had a very good second half of basketball,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after his defense forced 20 turnovers. “Our defense was very strong, and they created a lot of turnovers.”
Syracuse owns a 54-game winning streak over Colgate dating to 1962, though the Orange missed their first nine shots in a 70-54 win in the previous meeting on Nov. 13, 2019.
After facing Colgate (2-2), the Orange head to Nassau, Bahamas, to compete in the eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis along with Arizona State (2-2), No. 21 Auburn (2-0), No. 9 Baylor (2-0), No. 23 UConn (3-0), Loyola Chicago (3-0), Michigan State (2-1) and Virginia Commonwealth (2-1) from Nov. 24-26.
Colgate is facing its second ACC opponent in the early going after nearly knocking off NC State last Saturday before falling 77-74 when the Wolfpack hit three free throws with two seconds remaining.
“I hope what we learn from this is that we have to do a few little things better throughout the course of the game to get a little more separation — whether it’s at the beginning or the end of the game — to get the result we want,” Colgate coach Matt Langel said his team fell to the Wolf Pack.
The Raiders are averaging 69 points per game through their first three games against Division I opponents and visits Syracuse after rolling to a 97-50 win over Division III foe SUNY Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, two nights after a 10-point loss to Cornell.
Nelly Cumming averages a team-high 16.8 points and 1.5 steals per game, while Jack Ferguson averages 11 points and Tucker Richardson averages 9.5. Keegan Records averages team-highs in rebounds (6.8) and blocks (2.8) to go along with 6.5 points per game.
–Field Level Media
