After entering the Associated Press poll undefeated at No. 14 last Monday, Syracuse fell out of the Top 25 after losing to Wisconsin on Wednesday Georgetown on Saturday.

The Orange (6-2) will now look for a pick-me-up week against another of pair non-conference opponents. Colgate (2-5) visits the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and then SU will travel to Madison Square Garden to square off with St. John’s (5-3) at noon on Sunday. Syracuse is expected to handily beat the Raiders and win a more competitive contest with the Red Storm later in the week, and here’s what you need to know about each opponent.

Colgate (2-5) — Tuesday, 7 p.m., Carrier Dome (ESPNU)

All-time series: Syracuse leads 122-45. Colgate, with Tuesday being the 168th meeting, is the most frequent opponent in Orange history.

Last time they played: The Orange beat the Raiders, 78-43, in the Carrier Dome last season behind 20 points from Trevor Cooney.

Colgate report: Colgate has just one double-figure scorer in 6-foot guard Austin Tillotson (12.7 points per game), who scored 20 and made four 3s in the Raiders’ 76-49 loss to Texas Christian over the weekend. Colgate’s starting lineup against the Horned Frogs consisted of three guards, including Tillotson, and two forwards, neither of which is taller than 6 feet, 8 inches. In both of the the Raiders’ win this season, its opponent has scored fewer than 65 points. In all five of its losses, the other team has scored 69 or more. In its best offensive output season in a 101-98 overtime loss to Cornell, Colgate got to the line 33 times and made 22 free throws, and shot 12-of-32 from deep.

Statistic to know: Colgate’s defensive free-throw rate of 52.8 rank 340 out of 351 Division I teams, according to Kenpom. Free-throw rate measures an offense’s ability to get to the foul line, and a defense’s ability to keep teams off the foul line. The Raiders struggle mightily in the latter, which shows that Syracuse could have a lot of success going to the rim if it is struggling from deep on Tuesday.

How Colgate beats Syracuse: Simply put, this is going to be very hard for Colgate to do. To have any chance of even teasing at an upset, the Raiders need to pack the paint, stop penetration and force Syracuse to shoot well from 3. On offense, Colgate will need sophomore forward Jordan Swopshire to make shots early and stretch the floor against the Orange’s zone. Swopshire shot 5-for-9 from 3 against Cornell, which gave way to a balanced scoring effort that saw four players in double-figures. He’s the most likely to draw Syracuse’s defense away from the rim, but has made just 2-of-10 3s in the four games since the Raiders scored 98 against the Big Red.

St. John’s (5-3) — Sunday, noon, Madison Square Garden (FOX Sports 1)

All-time series: Syracuse leads 51-38.

Last time played: The Orange fell to the Red Storm, 69-57, in the Carrier Dome last season despite 15 points and 15 rebounds from Rakeem Christmas. St. John’s clamped down on Christmas and McCullough in the paint in that game, and Syracuse shot a woeful 3-for-22 from 3.

St. John’s report: St. John’s suffered back-to-back losses to then-No. 19 Vanderbilt and then-No. 13 Indiana toward the end of November, but a 73-57 loss to Fordham on Dec. 2 is the best illustration of the Red Storm’s season so far. St. John’s two most experienced players, Durand Johnson and Ron Mvouika, are transfers and the mostly young team has had a really hard time gelling through eight games. Yakuba Sima, a 6-foot-11 freshman from Spain, has arguably been the Red Storm’s best player averaging 8.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. In a 63-56 win over St. Francis (Brooklyn) on Sunday, Sima scored 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots. In the backourt, Johnson (11.4 points points per game) has been fairly consistent while Italian freshman Federico Mussini is filling up box scores. Mussini has just 11 combined points in his last two games, but scored 13 or more points in the Red Storm’s first six games with a season-high 24. He’s a capable ball-handler and a developing 3-point threat, currently shooting 32.7 percent from deep and leading the team with 14.4 points per game.

Statistic to know: Led by Sima, St. John’s’ 17.6 blocks percentage is the second-best in the country, according to Kenpom. That only trails Connecticut, which has the nation’s returning blocks leader in 7-foot center Amida Brimah. Syracuse has looked inside when struggling from deep this season — like it has in its last two games — and Sima will make that considerably hard to do.

How St. John’s beats Syracuse: Like Colgate, the Red Storm needs to pack the paint and is better equipped to do so. With no defensive three-second violation in college basketball, Sima can camp out in the paint and deter the Orange’s guards from going to the rim. If he guards one of Tyler Roberson or Dajuan Coleman, one of which is usually in the game at all times, he should be able to sag off into the paint and dare either to beat him from outside of the paint. That will force SU’s guards to settle for jump shots and kick out to the perimeter after penetrating, and that didn’t work too well for Syracuse against Wisconsin and Georgetown. On offense, St. John’s best bet is for Mussini to heat up early and open up the floor for Johnson and Sima. Sima isnt a polished offensive option but could have success against the Orange’s thin frontcourt. The Red Storm also has a few off-the-bench wing players that could drive into the cracks of Syracuse’s zone should St. John’s stretch the floor early on.

Published on December 7, 2015 at 6:40 pm