Syracuse Basketball: How to watch 'Cuse season opener vs. Le Moyne, key storylines

Syracuse basketball is back. Yes!

The Orange, led by second-year head coach Adrian Autry, his top-flight staff and their intriguing roster of 12 scholarship players, kicks off its 2024-25 season this Monday, Nov. 4, when nearby Le Moyne will visit the JMA Wireless Dome.

The 'Cuse, over the past 10 days or so, won both of its exhibitions on the Hill, easily defeating a pair of Division II squads - Clarion University from Clarion, Pa., and Slippery Rock University from Slippery Rock, Pa.

Now things start for real for the Orange, which in Autry's first term as the program's head coach, after succeeding the legendary Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, guided Syracuse basketball to a 20-12 overall mark.

It was the first time in a decade that the 'Cuse claimed 20 regular-season victories, although the Orange did miss the annual NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.

This off-season, much like many of its peers nationwide, Syracuse basketball significantly revamped its roster. Eight players from 2023-24 are gone, while five guys returned, and the terrific 'Cuse coaching staff brought in a 2024 recruiting class of four college transfers and three incoming freshmen.

Ahead of 2024-25, some national and Atlantic Coast Conference pundits aren't super high on the Orange's projected finish in the conference race, but I think that Syracuse basketball is poised to get back to the Big Dance come the spring of 2025.

How to watch Syracuse basketball in its 2024-25 season opener.

The 'Cuse and Le Moyne are scheduled to tip off this Monday, beginning at 7 pm and with coverage on the ACC Network Extra and ESPN+. The Dolphins are a member of the Northeast Conference ("NEC"), having joined that league and transitioning to Division I a season ago.

In 2023-24, Le Moyne went 15-17 overall and 9-7 in NEC competition. Nate Champion has led the Dolphins since the 2019–20 term as Le Moyne's head coach.

In their all-time series together during regular seasons, Syracuse basketball is 6-0 versus the Dolphins. Most recently, in November of 2008, the 'Cuse beat Le Moyne at home, 85-51.

Recently, the NEC's preseason coaches poll was unveiled, and the Dolphins were projected to finish fourth in the Northeast Conference standings. The preseason All-NEC team ahead of the 2024-25 campaign included Le Moyne fifth-year guard Darrick Jones Jr.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Jones, who hails from Richmond, Va., previously played for Towson. In high school, he competed for the powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

Last season, as a senior in 2023-24 for the Dolphins, Jones averaged 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, while he connected on 42.5 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 78.1 percent from the free-throw line.