As the calendar year nears 2025, Syracuse basketball is hoping to end 2024 on a positive note.
Following the Orange's blowout loss to Maryland last Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y., the 'Cuse has lost four of its past five games, as well as six of eight. Syracuse basketball, this Saturday afternoon, will wrap up the non-conference portion of its 2024-25 season and then get into the heart of Atlantic Coast Conference competition.
Without question, the current absence of junior guard J.J. Starling is tough for the Orange. Hopefully, he will come back soon. But even with Starling, the team's leading scorer at nearly 20 points per contest, on the floor, the 'Cuse has a lot of work to do if it wants to turn 2024-25 around.
How to watch Syracuse basketball host Bucknell on Saturday.
The Orange (5-6 overall) and Patriot League member Bucknell (4-8 overall) will go toe to toe at the JMA Wireless Dome beginning at 2 pm on Saturday, Dec. 28. The CW Network will air this non-conference clash.
When I wrote this column, FanDuel had Syracuse basketball as a 12.5-point betting favorite, with the over/under set at 148.5 points. In the Patriot League's preseason poll, the Bison were projected to finish at No. 4 in the conference standings during the 2024-25 campaign.
Per SU Athletics, the 'Cuse is 10-1 in its all-time series with Bucknell. In their most recent pairing, Syracuse basketball prevailed at home, 97-46, in November of 2019.
Here is the Bison's resume so far in 2024-25. Bucknell has wins over Delaware, Southern Indiana, Richmond and NJIT, while its losses are to Kentucky, Mount St. Mary's, Rider, Maryland, Siena, St. Bonaventure, Radford and Gonzaga.
Much like the Orange, the Bison is currently struggling, having fallen in six consecutive affairs. Neither Bucknell nor Syracuse basketball is a great shooting team from the field as a whole, the free-throw line or beyond the arc.
Where the 'Cuse, I believe, can do some damage is in the turnover arena. To date in 2024-25, Bucknell is committing a whopping 15.1 miscues per contest. If Syracuse basketball players are struggling to make shots, the Orange, hopefully, will force the Bison into a lot of turnovers.
From there, the 'Cuse should have ample opportunities to convert those Bucknell mistakes into easy buckets in transition.
If the Orange conquers the Bison, Syracuse basketball will finish its 11-game non-conference calendar at 6-5, which isn't good, but the Orange simply has to take things one encounter at a time.