The Syracuse Orange head to Western New York for an exhibition game against the Buffalo Bulls at KeyBank Center. The game will tip at 7:00 pm and will be streaming on cuse.com. Here’s what we’re watching
for:
Kevin: Defensive effort
It’s the first game, so the offense might be a bit sluggish, but will this group back up the talk and show effort on the defensive end? I’m going to watch and see if perimeter players fight through screens. Are the players communicating with each other and avoiding the breakdowns that kept showing up last season?
Dom: Lineup combos
With just JJ Starling and Donnie Freeman returning from last year’s team, the 2025-26 roster features plenty of new faces. Since it’s just an exhibition, I’m particularly interested to see what are the different lineup combinations coach Adrian Autry opts to go to. Specifically, the forward spots remain fascinating to me. Who ends up starting at the three? Does Freeman see some time at the five? How much will Autry go to a three-guard look? It’s a good time to experiment and see how it translates on the court.
Sam: Ball screen defense
I’ve been harping on it all offseason and throughout last season. Nothing that Syracuse did in half-court defense last year was acceptable, and thankfully, the staff realized that. With all new personnel (aside from Freeman and Starling), I’m extremely excited to watch a more mobile Orange frontcourt try to defend ball screens. Given that Buffalo was 92nd percentile in ball screen frequency last year, and they added a talented former high-major point guard in Daniel Freitag out of the transfer portal, I expect we will see many opportunities for Syracuse to play aggressively, rotate, and protect the rim.
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What will you be watching for in this one?
