After an extended break, Syracuse basketball will travel to South Dakota on Sunday afternoon for an enticing non-conference encounter against Pac-12 Conference member Oregon.
Last Saturday in our nation’s capital, the ‘Cuse took care of long-time rival Georgetown on the road, winning by 12 points. It was a solid victory for the Orange, and after the game, the head coaches of both Syracuse basketball and the Hoyas said that they’d like to see this non-conference series continue for years to come.
Next up, the ‘Cuse (7-3) has an interesting match-up against the Ducks (7-2) from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Then, next Thursday, Syracuse basketball will host fellow Empire State team Niagara to close out the Orange’s non-conference docket during the 2023-24 season.
How to watch Syracuse basketball versus Oregon at a neutral site.
The ‘Cuse and the Ducks will go toe to toe beginning at 1 pm on Sunday, Dec. 17. This contest will air on the CBS Sports Network, with coverage also available on fuboTV.
To date in 2023-24, Oregon’s resume is as follows. The Ducks have defeated Georgia, Montana, Tennessee State, Florida A&M, Michigan, UTEP and California Baptist.
Conversely, Oregon has lost Santa Clara and Alabama, with both of those setbacks occurring on neutral courts. Currently, Oregon is showing up in some bracketology projections as a predicted double-digit seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
This will be on the second all-time meeting between Syracuse basketball and the Ducks. In November of 2018, in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Oregon conquered the ‘Cuse, 80-65.
Sunday afternoon’s affair could prove a high-scoring game. Oregon averages 80.2 points per contest while allowing 69.7 points. Syracuse basketball, meanwhile, scores 77.2 points per encounter while giving up 70.8 points.
So far in 2023-24, both the Ducks and the Orange sport 1-2 marks in games played at neutral sites.
KenPom seems to like Oregon at this juncture in 2023-24. The Ducks, at the time of this writing, were No. 39 overall, No. 30 in adjusted-offensive efficiency and No. 57 in adjusted-defensive efficiency.
The KenPom metrics for Syracuse basketball, at least for now, are not nearly as good. KenPom has the ‘Cuse at No. 97 nationally, No. 117 in adjusted-offensive efficiency and No. 84 in adjusted-defensive efficiency.
When I wrote this story, Oregon had an NCAA NET ranking of No. 51, whereas the Orange arrived at No. 93.
By and large, Syracuse basketball has thrived in forcing turnovers and then getting easy buckets out in transition. The Ducks, though, take solid care of the ball, only committing 10.8 miscues per game.
Oregon isn’t a great free-throw shooting team, but the Ducks are strong elsewhere. They connect on 48.2 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. The ‘Cuse perimeter defense had better be locked in.
Oregon will be a formidable challenge for Syracuse basketball. If the Orange can find a way to prevail, this would be a good resume-building win, because if the Ducks end up in the top 50 of the NET ratings, that would give the ‘Cuse a coveted quadrant-one success.
After Syracuse basketball competes with Oregon in South Dakota, the Orange will play its final non-conference affair at home against Niagara on Thursday, Dec. 21, beginning at 5 pm and with coverage on the ACC Network Extra.