How to watch, key storylines as Syracuse basketball travels to Notre Dame in ACC opener

Two Atlantic Coast Conference squads that are struggling of late will collide on Saturday afternoon in the league opener for Syracuse basketball and Notre Dame.

The Orange, after getting blown out earlier this week by No. 3 Tennessee in the SEC/ACC Challenge, has lost three of four. The 'Cuse fell by a combined nine points to Texas and Texas Tech in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then Syracuse basketball defeated long-time local foe Cornell, at home, by 10 points.

For the Fighting Irish, it raced out to a 4-0 start to the 2024-25 campaign, but Notre Dame has lost five in a row. In this week's SEC/ACC Challenge, the Fighting Irish also lost big, on the road, to Georgia.

Interestingly enough, in the ACC's preseason media poll, Notre Dame was projected to finish at No. 10 in the conference standings, with the Orange one spot behind the Fighting Irish, at No. 11.

How to watch Syracuse basketball at Notre Dame this weekend.

The 'Cuse (4-3) and the Fighting Irish (4-5) will go toe to toe on Saturday, Dec. 7, with the tip-off scheduled for 12 pm inside Purcell Pavilion. The CW will televise this ACC clash.

Per SU Athletics, the Orange is 34-22 against Notre Dame in their all-time series together, and the 'Cuse has won three consecutive games versus the Fighting Irish. Most recently, in late February of this year on Jim Boeheim Day, Syracuse basketball squeaked by Notre Dame, 88-85, at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Fighting Irish is where Orange junior guard J.J. Starling played his freshman term before transferring to the 'Cuse. Starling, the team's leading scorer to date in 2024-25, is out indefinitely after recently suffering a left-hand injury, so I wouldn't expect him to be in the line-up on Saturday to face his former squad.

So far this season, Notre Dame has beaten Stonehill, Buffalo, Georgetown and North Dakota, while the Fighting Irish has lost to Elon, Rutgers, Houston, Creighton and Georgia.

At this juncture, Syracuse basketball is scoring 79.4 points per game while allowing 80.9 points. Notre Dame is averaging 74.8 points per contest and giving up 71.2 points. In other statistical categories, the Orange has edges in rebounds, assists, blocks and turnovers forced per affair.

Notre Dame has a small advantage in steals per game. The Fighting Irish hits on 47.1 percent from the field, 75.9 percent from the free-throw line and 35.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Orange makes 45.0 percent from the field, 67.7 percent from the charity stripe and 27.7 percent from 3-point land.

Even without Starling, the 'Cuse needs to grab this road win in early season conference play, as the Orange seems sluggish these days and has to regain its mojo. There are plenty of games left in the 2024-25 stanza, but Syracuse basketball could sure use a solid triumph to improve its current NCAA NET ranking.