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Teams: Syracuse Orange (0-1) vs. Colgate Raiders (1-1)
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 13 at 7 p.m. ET
Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Extended Forecast: High of 24, which is actually warmer than Syracuse’s shooting was against Virginia (no really; we shot 23.6 percent against UVA... yikes).
TV/Streaming: ACC Network
The Line: Syracuse -10.5
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3
Colgate blog: Mid-Major Madness
Rivalry: Syracuse leads the all-time series, 126-45
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Current Streak: Syracuse has won the last 53 meetings, which is the current D1 record for consecutive wins against a single opponent.
First Meeting: The first matchup happened all the way back in 1902, with Syracuse dismantling Colgate, 33-8. Earl Twombley led the way for the Orange with 12 points.
Last Meeting: One of the few games where Syracuse basketball actually looked dominant last year. Syracuse won 77-56 over Colgate, with Tyus Battle leading the charge with 24 points. Oshae Brissett and Elijah Hughes each chipped in for 17 as well, and Bourama Sidibe had one of his rare productive games, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for his only double-double of the season.
Head Coaches: Syracuse - Jim Boeheim (44th year; 1,045-380) | Colgate - Matt Langel (9th Year, 114-142)
Coach Bio: Matt Langel is heading into his ninth season at the helm of the Colgate Raiders. While Langel’s record doesn’t look that impressive historically, his recent success at Colgate is much more interesting. Two years ago, the team went 19-14 and 12-6 in the Patriot League, good enough for a team records for both and a second place finish in the division.
Last year, the team broke those school records for wins and conference wins (24-11, 13-5) en route to their first Patriot League title since 1996. They also gave Tennessee all they could handle in the NCAA tournament as a 15 seed, narrowly losing .
Last Year: We all know the story by now. Syracuse under-performed and just barely squeaked into the NCAA tournament. We were quickly ousted by Baylor. Colgate had their best season ever, won the Patriot League, and played admirably in the NCAA tournament.
Last Game: U-G-L-Y. There’s really no other way to put it. The offense was borderline embarrassing to watch, and it looked like a team that had never even practiced together, let alone had time to gel in both Italy and exhibition games.
On the plus side, the defense actually looked solid, holding Virginia to just 48 points and 16 percent from the 3-point line. There was a bit more penetration from Virginia’s guards than I would like to see, but overall I was pretty satisfied with the defense considering it was the first game of the year.
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”Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Rapolas Ivanauskas. Aside from having a truly fantastic name, Rapolas has also developed into quite the player for Colgate. After averaging more than 15 points per game last year, he has started this year even stronger, averaging 19 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in their first two contests. Ivanauskas, a 6-foot-10 senior center, also hit more than 43 percent of his 3-pointers last year, so he is a major threat from the outside as well.
Another player who could give Syracuse fits is Will Rayman, a 6-foot-9 senior forward who is averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds this year. Will is a four year starter who has averaged double digit scoring all four years. He’s also a career 40+ percent three-point shooter, so he gives yet another stretch option for Colgate on the perimeter.
If Syracuse Wins: Perhaps some Syracuse basketball fans will climb down from the proverbial ledge. I get that the Virginia game was an abomination, but it was one game, against the defending national champions, with a team that is very young and trying to find an identity. I think we see a much different Syracuse team against Colgate and the young squad finally will start to build confidence.
If Syracuse Loses: It’s lemming time! If you thought the Syracuse sports atmosphere was bad after the Virginia loss (for basketball) and BC loss (for football), it will get 100 times worse if we lose to Colgate. While Colgate is a much improved team from those that we absolutely trounced in the 90’s and 00’s, we should still beat them. If we don’t, expect a maelstrom of negativity from the fans and calls for Boeheim’s head (as if they weren’t already out there).
Fun Fact 1: Syracuse can extend the nation’s longest winning streak against a single opponent to 54. Even though it’s Colgate, there’s something to be said about beating a team that consistently for that long.
Fun Fact 2: Colgate, located in Hamilton, NY, is a mere 38 miles from Syracuse. They are one of Syracuse’s oldest rivals, with more than 115 years of basketball history.