Syracuse men’s basketball aims to get back on track when Northeastern comes to town on Saturday. SU was shocked by Colgate in its last contest, falling 80-68 at home on Tuesday.
The Orange took a 5-2 lead early on before the Raiders scored eight of the next nine points. ‘Cuse fought back to cut ‘Gate’s lead to eight, but a 9-2 run put Syracuse behind 44-30 at the half. Despite outscoring Colgate in the final 20 minutes, SU couldn’t overcome the deficit. Matt Langel’s squad shot the lights out and set a JMA Wireless Dome record with 19 three-pointers made. Senior Tucker Richardson shined, scoring 24 of his 30 points from beyond the arc while shooting over 60% from distance.
For the Orange, freshman Judah Mintz led the way with 20 points while sophomore Benny Williams wasn’t far behind at 17. In addition to last year’s 100-85 victory, the Raiders have won back-to-back games over the ‘Cuse for the first time since 1962. Meanwhile, the loss marked Syracuse’s first 1-1 start since 2019 and fourth in the 21st century.
"We had no chance to play them man-to-man," head coach Jim Boeheim said. "That was pretty obvious from the beginning…But, for this game, our defense wasn't as bad as our offense. Our offense was horrendous."
Northeastern is in a similar boat. The Huskies are 0-3 out of the gate, which hasn’t happened in 16 years. NU is reeling off a 70-69 defeat at the hands of Harvard on Wednesday. Junior Jahmyl Telfort recorded a team-high 23 points on over 50% shooting. The Quebec native is averaging 20 points per game, which is double his next closest teammate. Much like Syracuse, Northeastern is a young team that features six freshmen. Head coach Bill Coen attributes inexperience to the sluggish start.
“It wasn’t a win on the scoreboard, but it was a winning effort,” Coach Coen explained. “That’s step one. Now, our execution has to improve to a certain level. Our understanding has to improve to a certain level, both offensively and defensively.”
The Huskies head into their matchup with the Orange winless in all eight previous contests. These two last matched up on December 16, 2020, where the ‘Cuse came out on top 62-56. Both teams traded punches throughout the first half. A fastbreak dunk by Marek Dolezaj put SU up 32-31 at the break. The final 20 minutes were mostly the same, until Syracuse pulled away thanks to a Joseph Girard III and one and two free throws from Kadary Richmond. Then-sophomore Girard notched 21 points and a career-high six steals. Forward Quincy Guerrier tallied 18 points and also grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds.
Game time between SU and Northeastern is set for 5:00 p.m. WAER’s coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. with McClurg Team Countdown to Tip-off.