The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team is back in action from the JMA Wireless Dome, hosting the Monmouth Hawks. Syracuse is off to a strong start with the No. 1 scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and three point percentage defense in the country.
JJ Starling will make his return to the court tonight, as reported by Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters. Tyler Betsey will be sidelined with an ankle injury. Syracuse is led by Donnie Freeman’s 17.7 points per game while Kiyan Anthony is averaging
17.3 points per game.
Monmouth is off to a 1-2 start with losses to La Salle and Seton Hall. King Rice, a Binghamton native, is in his 15th season as head coach of Monmouth. The Hawks are led by San Francisco transfer Jason Rivera-Torres. Senior Jack Collins has spent his entire college career with Monmouth. Collins has scored 1,034 points and 558 rebounds in his career. Monmouth General Manager Rick Callahan is a former Syracuse assistant under Jim Boeheim.
Syracuse leads 3-0 in the all-time series with Monmouth. The Orange is a 20.5 point favorite in this meeting with the over/under set at 145.5.
ICYMI:
- Syracuse vs. Monmouth: What to watch
- TNIAAM predictions and poll (cast your vote!)
- What’s the ‘juicing station’ of Syracuse basketball?
Sam is boots on the ground tonight, give him a follow on Twitter/X if you’re not already.
It’s the final tuneup for Syracuse before the competition heats up in Las Vegas at the Player’s Era Festival. The Syracuse/Monmouth game tips off at 9 p.m. ET and airs on the ACC Network. As always, leave your pre-, in- and post-game comments below.
