Well, that wasn’t ideal.
The Syracuse Orange returned to the hardwood on Friday to take on the Bryant Bulldogs in the season-opener for both teams. However, a mixture of a lack of practice and old, bad habits caught up with the Orange as Syracuse looked flat to start the season. SU did just enough to win 85-84 over the Bulldogs in the Carrier Dome, although it was far from pretty.
GAME RECAP LINKS:
- Syracuse barely survives Bryant’s upset bid in season-opener at Carrier Dome (Syracuse.com)
- Syracuse 85, Bryant 84: Orange barely scrape past Bulldogs in season opener (NunesMagician.com)
- Syracuse basketball box score vs. Bryant (Syracuse.com)
- ORANGE OUTLAST BULLDOGS, 85-84 (Cuse.com)
- Syracuse scrapes by Bryant, 85-84, to tip-off strange season (DailyOrange.com)
JIM BOEHEIM’S PRESS CONFERENCE:
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
MEDIA:
Whew…
1-0 ✔️ pic.twitter.com/4kEpzK5HCC
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 27, 2020
Syracuse 85, Bryant 84
Bryant had two chances at the buzzer but no good. Orange start 1-0 despite leading the game for only a few minutes.
— Matthew Gutierrez (@MatthewGut21) November 27, 2020
Syracuse had a 98 percent chance to beat Bryant today. Per KenPom, teams given at least a 90.0% chance of winning are 44-0 so far this season.
— Matthew Gutierrez (@MatthewGut21) November 27, 2020
Jared Grasso said they gave Syracuse multiple opportunities to push the game back after the Orange were quarantined last week.
“To say they wanted to cancel the game is false.”
— Morey Hershgordon (@MHershgordon) November 27, 2020
23 for @Buddy_Boeheim35 in the opening win. pic.twitter.com/PlivB7uDoD
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 27, 2020
Stat-stuffing performance by @MarekDolezaj
? 20 pts
? 6 reb
? 9 ast
? 5 stl pic.twitter.com/ZAQRmkZa3x— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 27, 2020
Oh my… ??@JG3_____ ➡️ @alangriffin_
Watch on ACCN: https://t.co/3BgIhrpb2T pic.twitter.com/XWe41StfGl
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 27, 2020
GAME PREVIEW:
Syracuse begins its 120th campaign when it welcomes Bryant to the Carrier Dome for its season opener on Friday, Nov. 27. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The game will be televised on ACC Network and ACCN Extra. Fans can catch all the action on the Syracuse Sports Network from Learfield IMG College, including TK99 and ESPN Radio Syracuse locally.
Orange head coach Jim Bobheim begins his 45th season at the helm at his alma mater. Syracuse is 39-5 all-time in its home opener during his tenure. The ‘Cuse returns four of its five starters from last season’s squad that was 18-14 and had won its first ACC Tournament game before the national pandemic ended the college basketball season.
GAME PREVIEW LINKS:
- ORANGE OPEN 2020-21 CAMPAIGN FRIDAY (Cuse.com)
- Beat writers expect dominating win in season-opener against Bryant (DailyOrange.com)
- Syracuse basketball vs. Bryant: TV channel, time, how to watch free live stream (11/27/2020) (Syracuse.com)
- Opponent preview: What to know about Bryant, SU’s first opponent of 2020 (DailyOrange.com)
MEDIA:
After 261 days…
Syracuse Basketball is BACK. ?✊ pic.twitter.com/dFaRolIuQv
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 27, 2020
Back in the Dome! ?? pic.twitter.com/kE5rSpI2R1
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 26, 2020
Counting down to Friday ⏳ pic.twitter.com/83h4q7Ehx6
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 24, 2020
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].