Syracuse, NY – An Empire State rivalry will be renewed on Sunday afternoon, as the sixth-ranked Syracuse Orange take on the Colgate Raiders in non-conference action from the Carrier Dome.
This game continues Colgate's challenging early-season schedule, as it has already dropped tough road tilts to Illinois (75-55) and Marquette (84-63). The good news for the Raiders is that they have played well against teams more on their level talent wise, beating Marist (74-60), Coppin State (88-84) and Saint Francis (85-76).
Syracuse has been relatively quiet thus far, playing only three games in the first two weeks, but it has won all of them, beating San Diego State (62-49), Wagner (88-57) and Princeton (73-53).
In a series that dates all the way back to 1902, Syracuse had a distinct advantage over Colgate, 119-45. The Orange are currently on an incredible 46- game winning streak in the series, with the Raiders last win coming back in 1962.
After scoring more than 63 points just once in its first four games, Colgate has topped 85 points in back-to-back contests, and its bout with Saint Francis saw its best shooting effort to date. The Raiders shot a lofty 58.1 percent from the field, including a lights-out 14-of-20 showing from three-point range, as they came back from a halftime deficit to win. Pat Moore was integral in the victory, as he connected on all but one of his eight three- point attempts en route to 25 points. Murphy Burnatowski logged a double- double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Damon Sherman-Newsome (12 points) and Brandon James (10 points) both played crucial roles off the bench. The explosion from beyond the arc is nothing new for Colgate, as it's connecting on nearly 10 treys per game at a 46.4 percent clip. Burnatowski (17.5 ppg) and Moore (17.3 ppg) are consistent in their point production, and the two have combined to drain 37-of-68 from long range (.544). James (10.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg) is also a regular contributor.
The Orange have barely broken a sweat through their first three games, as they are shooting 47.5 percent from the floor, holding their opponents to 33.3 percent, and have a plus-21.3 scoring margin. It was much of the same against Princeton, as Syracuse made 47.4 percent of its field goal attempts while goading the Tigers into several more turnovers (24) than they had field goals (17). James Southerland came off the bench to pace five SU players in double figures with 22 points on 7-of-11 accuracy from the field (4-of-6 from three- point range), and he also logged five of the team's 19 steals. Michael Carter- Williams narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine assists, and he's stuffed the stat sheet this season as the starting point guard (11.0 ppg, 8.0 apg, 5.3 rpg, 4.0 spg, 1.0 bpg). Brandon Tiche is the leading scorer with 15.3 ppg on 47.2 percent field goal shooting, and Southerland (14.3 ppg) has also gotten off to a fast start. C.J. Fair (12.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg) brings stability to the frontcourt.
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