On Friday night, Syracuse basketball will kick off its two-game exhibition series by hosting Division II Daemen at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Daemen Wildcats, located in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst, N.Y., are an excellent hoops program that is a member of the East Coast Conference.
Last season, Daemen went 20-8 overall, including 12-4 in conference play. In the 2022-23 season, the Wildcats, as the No. 2 seed, advanced to the championship game of the East Coast Conference tournament, where they fell to top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College from Sparkill, N.Y., 72-66.
The Orange and Daemen will do battle on the Hill beginning at 7 pm on Friday, Oct. 27, with live-streaming coverage provided on the ACC Network Extra and ESPN+.
Syracuse basketball has an exhibition on Friday evening versus Daemen.
Earlier this week, in an exhibition, Daemen nearly pulled off an upset as the Wildcats played at the University at Buffalo. Per an announcement on the Daemen athletics department Web site, Buffalo went on a 15-6 run over the final five minutes to pull away with a 71-67 victory over the Wildcats.
We battled but came up just short against Division I Buffalo tonight. Joey Atkins with a game-high 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to lead the Wildcats.
— Daemen Men’s Basketball (@DaemenMBB) October 24, 2023
Off to Syracuse to take on The Orange on Friday. pic.twitter.com/yn0QTRlq16
In the close setback for Daemen, graduate student guard/forward Joey Atkins tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Justin Hemphill produced 15 points and seven boards, while senior guard Dylan Fasoyiro collected 12 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Head coach Mike MacDonald, in the upcoming 2023-24 stanza, will be entering his 10th season at the helm of Daemen, in a tenure where he has amassed a stellar overall record of 179-74, along with an East Coast Conference regular-season title, three NCAA tournament berths and the 2021 NCAA Division II East Region championship.
Besides hosting Daemen this Friday, Syracuse basketball will have another exhibition beginning at 7 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 1, against Division II College of St. Rose, which is located in Albany, N.Y.
After those two exhibitions, the ‘Cuse will begin its 2023-24 regular season by welcoming America East Conference member New Hampshire to the Dome on Monday, Nov. 6, with the tip-off scheduled for 7 pm.
At that time, Adrian Autry will commence his first term as the Orange’s head coach, after he succeeded Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who retired this past March.
A stanza ago, the ‘Cuse went 17-15 overall, and the team has missed the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two campaigns. The Syracuse basketball 2023-24 roster is athletic, deep and versatile, and Orange players expect to make a deep run in the Big Dance come next spring.