After an offseason buzzing with roster news, Syracuse is finally on the cusp of taking to the Carrier Dome court for the first time against another team. The Orange, a team with possibly five new rotation players, will host Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania in an exhibition at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.

The Crimson Hawks are defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West champions, but the scoreboard won’t be among Tuesday’s storylines. Here are three things to watch for as the first chapter of the 2016-17 season unfolds.

Lineup variations

The pressing issue on most fans’ minds is going to be the starting five. It’s an especially pertinent question with so many new faces on the roster, replacing the team’s three best offensive players from a year ago. But as Jim Boeheim mulls over the concept of his deepest rotation in years, the starting group could be disbanded minutes into the game.

The veteran head coach did breach the subject at SU’s media day on Oct. 21, when asked about Tyler Lydon playing a bigger role this year. Boeheim listed Andrew White, Frank Howard, Tyler Roberson and Dajuan Coleman as Lydon’s support group. That’s the most sensible guess at a starting lineup.

After the starters are split up, the most interesting aspect of Tuesday’s game is going to be the lineup configurations Boeheim deploys. The game will serve essentially as a live lab for the coaching staff to see which groups gel together. For example, the flip-flop between Howard and John Gillon at point guard will be intriguing, as will the split at center between Coleman and Paschal Chukwu. Freshmen Tyus Battle, Taurean Thompson and Matthew Moyer will figure into the plans, too.

It’s an experiment that will likely drag well into the season before anything substantial is determined, but there are certain game situations that Boeheim has the personnel to cater to.

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Development from last year’s key cogs

Most eyes are likely going to be glued on the trio of Syracuse’s top freshmen or fifth-year transfers, but there’s legitimate reason to keep tabs on familiar names from last season.

Lydon looks just as polished of a shooter as he was last year, but he’s put on a few pounds that should allow him to hang in more often when driving the paint. In last year’s offense it was more acceptable for him to be passive in his shot selection, but that won’t fly this season.

Howard only played sparingly last year behind Michael Gbinije at point guard. The sophomore will continue to be lauded for his ball movement, but expect Howard to keep defenders honest by hoisting a few more shots this year. The pressure’s going to be on him to blossom offensively, or Boeheim likely won’t wait around to swap him out for Gillon.

Coleman managed 17.5 minutes per game last year at center, but as he distances himself further from knee injuries, that time should go up in concert with his quality of play. He probably won’t see extended minutes in Tuesday’s exhibition, but that will give fans a chance to see the spectacle that is the 7-foot-2 Chukwu.

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Early indicators

The point totals might be eye-popping in Syracuse’s two exhibitions — it nearly combined for 200 points last year — but it will be more worthwhile to look at how those points were scored. Last year against Le Moyne, the Orange fired 32 3-pointers, confirming suspicions that the team would lean heavily on the deep ball.

It didn’t again approach the 97 points scored in the contest, but left no surprises as to where the engine of the offense was. Perhaps on Tuesday, SU will continuously feed inside to Roberson, Coleman and Chukwu. Maybe the vast majority of shots will come from the hands of Lydon and White.

We’ll all have to wait and see what’s uncovered on Tuesday night.

Published on November 1, 2016 at 12:26 am

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman