Syracuse basketball has looked good through two non-conference games, and now the Orange is headed to the City of Brotherly Love to face Coastal Athletic Association ("CAA") member Drexel.
The Dragons are located in Philadelphia, and this game will be played in Philadelphia, yet this is a neutral-site affair. Hmmm. In any event, the 'Cuse (2-0) will play Drexel and then host Monmouth before heading to Las Vegas for a challenging docket in the Players Era Festival, highlighted by No. 1 Houston and No. 25 Kansas.
While the Orange's first two wins were against Binghamton and Delaware State (I mean no disrespect here), the 'Cuse is allowing just 45 points per contest, among the best in the country. That's highly encouraging, given that Syracuse basketball gave up nearly 78 points per contest a season ago.
How to watch Syracuse basketball against Drexel in Philadelphia.
The Orange and Drexel will tip off at 3:30 pm EST on Saturday, Nov. 15, from the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. This non-conference game is part of the Autumn Invitational, with La Salle and Penn State squaring off at 1:00 pm EST. Peacock will provide live streaming coverage of the 'Cuse versus the Dragons.
So far in the 2025-26 campaign, Drexel is 1-2. The Dragons beat Widener and then fell to Saint Joseph's (a 'Cuse foe next month) and Colgate. Drexel was forecast to finish at No. 10 in the CAA standings in 2025-26, per the league's preseason poll.
Drexel junior guard Shane Blakeney received an honorable mention nod to the preseason All-CAA teams. Through three games, he's averaging 29.7 minutes, 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per encounter. Blakeney is connecting on just 34.9 percent from the field, along with 45.0 percent from 3-point land and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line.
KenPom, at the time of this writing, had the Orange at No. 58 overall, No. 59 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 67 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Drexel, meanwhile, resides at No. 248 overall, No. 235 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 251 in adjusted defensive efficiency.
One key area to monitor in this game is free-throw shooting. Both teams are off to rough starts in that category. Syracuse basketball is making 59.5 percent from the charity stripe. Drexel is even worse, at 56.5 percent. Yikes.
In their all-time series together, per SU Athletics, the 'Cuse is 4-1 against the Dragons.