Syracuse basketball kicks off its 2023-24 season on Monday evening at home against New Hampshire, as the era of first-year head coach Adrian Autry gets underway.
There is a lot of excitement in the air as Autry leads the Orange into a new season, although it will prove a little strange not to see Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim at the helm of the ‘Cuse. This past March, Boeheim retired, handing the reins to his former player and long-time assistant, Autry.
On Monday, Nov. 6, beginning at 7 pm from the JMA Wireless Dome, the Orange will begin its 2023-24 term by welcoming America East Conference member New Hampshire to the Hill.
In the 2023-24 season opener for the ‘Cuse, you can find the game via live-streaming coverage on the ACC Network Extra and ESPN+. Coverage is also available from fuboTV.
Syracuse basketball will host New Hampshire on Monday night to commence a new season.
Along with a new head coach in Autry, the Orange has a roster of 13 scholarship players that includes several guys who transferred to the ‘Cuse this off-season. Syracuse basketball will also be without several of its top scorers from a stanza ago, namely center Jesse Edwards, who transferred to West Virginia, and guard Joe Girard III, who transferred to Clemson.
In Boeheim’s final campaign, the Orange went 17-15 overall. Over the past two stanzas, the ‘Cuse has gone a combined 33-32, missing the NCAA Tournament in each season.
On paper, the team’s 2023-24 roster boasts a lot of depth and versatility at every position group, and I’m curious to see how a line-up with a ton of underclassmen, and several transfers into the Syracuse basketball program, blends together under a first-year head coach.
Speaking of that, New Hampshire in 2023-24 also has a new head coach in Nathan Davis, who previously had a lot of success as the boss at Bucknell.
A season ago, New Hampshire went 15-15 overall and 9-7 in league play. Ahead of 2023-24, the Wildcats were projected to finish at No. 8 in the America East Conference standings, per the league’s preseason poll.
One New Hampshire player to monitor is senior forward Clarence Daniels, who is from Brooklyn Park, Minn. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Daniels was named to the America East Conference’s preseason All-Conference team after averaging an impressive 15.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 2022-23.
Last year, he connected on 44.0 percent from the field, 39.5 percent from 3-point land and 75.8 percent from the free-throw line. Daniels, as a junior, was one of the top rebounders nationwide, so the ‘Cuse has to do a good job of keeping him off the glass.
By the way, on Monday evening, not only are Autry and Davis making their head-coaching debuts at Syracuse basketball and New Hampshire, respectively, but this is also the first-ever meeting between the Orange and the Wildcats.
I’m going to miss Jim Boeheim on the sidelines, but at the same time, I’m pumped to see Autry guiding the Orange now. Look for a lot of man-to-man defense and an offense that plays at an up-tempo pace in the 2023-24 season opener and beyond.