It took Syracuse just two games to show both sides of its early-season identity.
The Orange were frustrated in the opener, when they let New Haven hang around by giving up 41 second-half points and watched a 22-point halftime cushion shrink before finishing off a 74-58 win. Then came Thursday, when Syracuse answered with a dominant 53-point win over Central Connecticut State and gave Gerry McNamara exactly the kind of effort he wanted.
Now the test gets real. Syracuse heads to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday to face Indiana, a 2-0 Big Ten team that has also opened against Quad 4 opposition. The Hoosiers have won both games, but they have not yet faced anything close to the level of challenge the Orange are about to bring.
That’s why the beat writers are split on what comes next for Syracuse (2-0, Atlantic Coast).
Noah Nussbaum sees a step forward, but not a win. He’s calling for Indiana 74, Syracuse 68, arguing that this is the kind of matchup that will show whether the Orange have truly moved on from the last three seasons under Adrian Autry.
He pointed to Syracuse’s uneven guard play, noting that neither Ryan Moesch nor Garwey Dual has offered much scoring through two games. Moesch has at least brought energy and playmaking, though turnovers have been part of the package.
Nussbaum also highlighted Indiana’s transfer-heavy roster, which includes Duke transfer Darren Harris, Villanova transfer Bryce Lindsay, Notre Dame transfer Markus Burton and Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell. All four are averaging more than 10 points per game so far.
Syracuse, meanwhile, has gotten strong scoring from Gavin Doty and Mark Morano, with Sadiq White Jr. and Luke Wilson also looking like options. But Nussbaum doesn’t see that group overwhelming a Power Five opponent the way it handled CCSU.
Nicholas Alumkal is also taking Indiana, 78-70, and he sees Monday as the start of a much tougher stretch for Syracuse. He described the matchup as a “Gauntlet gut check” and called Gainbridge Fieldhouse basically an away game for the Orange.
Alumkal focused on Indiana’s backcourt, which features former ACC starters Markus Burton and Jaeden Mustaf. Burton, in particular, has already shown he can pile up points, and Alumkal pointed back to Burton’s 28-point game against Syracuse in the 2024-25 season, when the Orange beat his former Notre Dame team. Even if Burton doesn’t take over, Indiana still has Mustaf, Lindsay and Harris as scoring threats.
He wasn’t convinced Syracuse has found steady guard play yet. Dual, he wrote, has not matched the enormous praise McNamara has given him as one of the best defenders he has ever seen, while Moesch has flashed but remains inconsistent as a shooter. Alumkal also questioned the Orange inside, saying Luke Wilson was “a passenger on the court” in the opener and noting the challenge of dealing with Indiana 7-foot-2 center Samet Yiğitoğlu.
Still, he expects Syracuse to compete. He pointed to Doty’s edge, White’s athleticism and Morano’s shooting touch, but still landed on an Indiana win.
Mauricio Palmar is the outlier. He’s taking Syracuse 75, Indiana 68, and he’s doing it because he doesn’t think the Hoosiers have shown enough to be trusted yet.
Palmar argued that Indiana’s two wins have come against weak competition, just like Syracuse’s, but that the Orange’s performance against Central Connecticut State stood out more. He also sees Burton in a different role than the one he played at Notre Dame, describing him as more of a facilitator than the high-usage scorer he used to be. He was similarly unconvinced by Lindsay and Sherrell as alpha scorers, and said Harris, Indiana’s leading scorer at 15.0 points per game, may not keep that pace.
From there, Palmar leaned into Syracuse matchups. He believes Dual can slow Burton, Doty is the best scorer on either team, and White gives the Orange the edge over Sherrell in the frontcourt. Most of all, he thinks Syracuse has already shown what it can look like when it strings together a full 40 minutes.
“My fellow scribes decided to zig. I’ll opt to zag.”
In Other News...
Syracuse Already Has A Quarterback Problem For 2027
Steve Angelis afternoon against Clemson was a snapshot of the uncertainty Syracuse has been living with at quarterback all season. In the 18-13 loss, Angeli finished 18 of 40 for 263 yards with a touchdown, a fumble and an interception, and the uneven outing came against the backdrop of performance issues and injury questions that have already pushed Fran Brown to rotate in Amari Odom and Malachi Nelson.
The bigger concern may be what this means beyond the current season. Even with eligibility rules still to sort through and the transfer portal always looming, Syracuse is already staring at a 2027 quarterback competition that could get crowded fast, and Brown may have to manage not just who starts next year, but who is still in the program when the time comes. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Freshman Suddenly Looks Like A Real Backcourt Factor
Ryan Moesch didnt need long to show why Syracuse is already leaning into his upside. After a rough debut, the freshman guard looked far more settled in the Oranges second game of the season, finishing with six points, seven assists and a solid defensive effort in a decisive win that gave the backcourt a much-needed lift.
Gerry McNamara had been candid about Moeschs first outing, but he also made it clear the freshmans potential was never in doubt. The next test comes against Indiana, and Syracuse will be watching to see whether Moeschs bounce-back is the start of something bigger or just an early-season flash of promise. [Read more 🡒]
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Garrett Angeli moved the ball well enough at times, finishing with 263 passing yards and a late touchdown, but two turnovers loomed over the night, including a fumble returned for a score and an interception in the end zone. Ahmad Miller was a bright spot again, carrying 20 times for 101 yards for his third 100-yard game in four weeks, another sign that Syracuse found some answers on the ground even as the overall result left the offense with plenty to clean up. [Read more 🡒]