Syracuse gets its regular season underway Monday night against New Haven, and the Orange enter the opener after a final exhibition that offered a little bit of everything - some encouraging flashes, plenty of shooting issues, and a strong finish from junior guard Gavin Doty.
Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Eastern at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY.
The game will air on ACC Network Xtra, with streaming on WATCH ESPN. Matt Park, Eric Devendorf and Jazaleen Salinas are on the broadcast team.
Radio coverage is available on TK99, WAER, Cuse.com and the TuneIn App. It’s the first meeting between Syracuse and the Chargers.
Syracuse closed exhibition play with a 71-58 win over Niagara at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday, but the final score didn’t tell the whole story. The Orange led 33-26 at halftime, yet the game never felt fully settled because the outside shot never really arrived. Syracuse finished 6-for-24 from 3-point range in that game, and over its three exhibition outings it went just 21-for-79 from deep, a 26.6% clip.
Doty was a big reason the Orange were able to create separation late. He had missed his only shot at halftime and spent part of the first half on the bench, but he came out aggressive after the break.
After missing his first 3-pointer to start the second half, he buried the next one just 30 seconds later and then kept rolling. He finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double with Syracuse.
“[I] Came back in the second half and just was in attack mode,” Doty said.
The bench helped keep Syracuse afloat while Doty was out of the flow early. The second unit supplied 19 points during the stretch when he was off the floor, and the Orange never let Niagara overtake them.
Still, the Purple Eagles kept hanging around. Syracuse had built a 17-point lead at one point in the first half, but Niagara trimmed the margin to five with 4:30 left.
That kind of back-and-forth left head coach Adrian Autry wanting more, especially from long range.
“It just provides such a huge boost,” McNamara said on the importance of shooting.
The Orange did eventually pull away for the 13-point win, but McNamara wasn’t interested in dressing it up.
“We weren't good,” McNamara said. “We haven't been good.”
One player who did draw praise was freshman guard Ryan Moesch. Off the bench, he posted game highs with six assists and four steals while also scoring nine points on 3-for-5 shooting. He logged 22 minutes and handled the offense with poise, committing only two turnovers.
“He's been really good. Been a bright spot,” McNamara said. “He's obviously a change of pace, and we've got to get a lot of other guys here stepping up and playing at the same level.”
Syracuse shot 26-for-58 from the floor, a 48.8% mark, and controlled the glass 43-24. McNamara said he wanted better work on the boards, but the Orange still used their physical edge to produce 36 points in the paint. Junior center Luke Wilson scored 12 points, and fifth-year forward Armarri Monroe added nine.
Through the uneven exhibition stretch, McNamara said the focus now is improvement.
"I'm going to help them get better," McNamara said.
For the opener against New Haven, Syracuse is listed as a 26.5-point favorite, with an over-under of 138.5. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Orange a 96.2% chance to win.
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