Come Syracuse’s season opener, it will have been 223 days since last season ended with an 83-66 loss to North Carolina in the Final Four. Finally, the waiting is about to end. The Orange begins the regular season on Friday at 7 p.m. against Colgate in the Carrier Dome.

Here’s what you need to know about the Raiders.

All-time series: SU leads 123-45

Last time they played: Syracuse handled Colgate easily last year, defeating the Raiders 78-51 on Dec. 8. The Raiders led by a bucket after three and a half minutes, and that was the last time the scoreboard reflected any good news for the visitors. The Orange, much like it was all season, was spearheaded offensively by Malachi Richardson and Michael Gbinije.

The duo poured in 17 points each, not to mention double-digit scoring efforts from Trevor Cooney, Tyler Lydon and Dajuan Coleman. Fourteen-of-30 3-pointers fell in for Syracuse.

The Colgate report: The Raiders are projected to strut out a lineup with four juniors and a sophomore. Junior forwards Tom Rivard and Jordan Swopshire will shoulder most of the offensive load, with each averaging just above 10 points per game last year. Those numbers were flattened a bit in 2015-16 by Austin Tillotson, the team’s leading scorer who has since graduated. Tillotson averaged 15.1 points per game in his final campaign.

His departure leaves Colgate with significantly less firepower. The team is returning 68.3 percent of its scoring from last year, and Tillotson’s departure means the group has a lot to prove.

How Colgate beats Syracuse: There’s a reason Syracuse has won nearly three-fourths of the teams’ 168 matchups. SU usually has the size, depth and overall talent to outmatch their Patriot League rivals. The Orange once again checks all those boxes, but perhaps the Raiders can find a way to turn Syracuse’s strengths against itself. A newly crafted nine-man rotation has only played 80 preseason minutes together.

Jim Boeheim elected in both exhibitions to press for a significant amount of time, and both opponents found success beating SU’s transition defense if it could advance the ball past halfcourt. Colgate has to keep its foot on the pedal to outpace SU on the scoreboard, and then defensively find a way counter several height mismatches. Safe to say, the path to victory is a slim one for the Raiders.

Stat to know: 55 — Colgate hasn’t topped Syracuse since the 1961-62 season. That was 55 seasons ago, and two years before a lanky 6-foot-3 guard named Jim Boeheim walked on to the freshman basketball team.

Player to watch: Jordan Swopshire, forward, No 15

The 6-foot-7 forward has an affinity for the long ball. Swopshire finished third in his conference last season with a 43.8 3-point shooting percentage. He’s likely to get even more opportunities on Friday and all season without Tillotson consuming any scoring chances. In Syracuse’s scrimmage against Le Moyne on Tuesday, the Dolphins hit 14-of-39 3-pointers, including a 5-of-5 stretch at the end of the first half. Look for Swopshire to try and similarly exploit SU’s defense around the arc. He might be his team’s best shot to preserve some competition.

Published on November 11, 2016 at 2:03 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman