Syracuse Basketball: How to watch ‘Cuse battle CNY foe Cornell at Dome

Syracuse basketball looks to get back into the win column when the Orange hosts fellow Central New York team Cornell this Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The ‘Cuse, this past week, easily dispatched of LSU in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge on the Hill, but then the Orange ran into a hot-shooting Virginia squad over the weekend and got crushed by the Cavaliers on the road.

Now Syracuse basketball (5-3, 0-1 in the ACC) is set to battle one of its long-time rivals, the Big Red out of the Ivy League.

Cornell, forecast to finish at No. 3 in the Ivy League per that conference’s preseason media poll, is off to a strong start to the 2023-24 campaign. The Big Red has won four straight games.

How to watch Syracuse basketball face Cornell at the Dome.

The Orange and Cornell (7-1) will tip off beginning at 7 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 5, on the Hill. This non-conference encounter will air on the ACC Network. Coverage will also be available from fuboTV.

In their all-time series together, Syracuse basketball is 96-31 against the Big Red, including a 78-63 home victory on December 17 of last year, per SU Athletics. The ‘Cuse has captured 42 victories in a row over Cornell.

However, this Big Red group is legit. To date in 2023-24, Cornell owns triumphs over Lehigh, SUNY Morrisville, Fordham, Cal State Fullerton, Utah Valley, Monmouth and, most recently, Lafayette. The Big Red’s sole setback in the current term was at George Mason by seven points.

In all fairness, Syracuse basketball has played a tougher schedule at this juncture in 2023-24 than Cornell, but the Big Red can put up points in droves.

Per ESPN data, Cornell is averaging 85.5 points per game, although it is allowing a sub-par 77.0 points per affair. The Big Red is shooting an impressive 51.3 percent from the field as a collective unit, along with 35.1 percent from downtown and 69.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Cornell players share the ball extremely well, as they average 18.1 assists per meeting, which is nearly five assists more per game than the ‘Cuse. What’s more, eight guys on the Big Red roster average at least five points per contest.

In the all-important duel on the glass, Syracuse basketball and Cornell are averaging basically the same number of rebounds per encounter. Where the Orange can, hopefully, feast on the Big Red is in the turnover department.

Cornell players average a whopping 15.6 turnovers per game, and if the ‘Cuse can secure a lot of Big Red miscues and convert them into easy transition points, that would prove huge for a Syracuse basketball squad that struggled with its perimeter shooting against the Cavaliers over the weekend.

For what it’s worth, the NCAA’s first set of NET rankings for the 2023-24 season came out on Monday. The Orange was at No. 140 overall, while Cornell checked in at No. 55.

Also on Monday when I wrote this column, Syracuse basketball was No. 106 nationally in KenPom’s ratings. The Big Red arrived at No. 115 nationwide via KenPom.