Opponent Preview: What to know about Colgate

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Coming off of a comfortable 79-56 win over Stony Brook to open the season, Syracuse will look to improve to 2-0 against Colgate at the JMA Wireless Dome on Thursday. The Orange were dominant on the offensive boards and their quick play in transition was too much for the Seawolves to handle.

Despite the 23-point victory, SU needs a lot more time to gel. A team with 10 new incomers and just four returners, the matchup with Colgate should be another nonconference game the Orange can use to tighten things up.

Here’s what you need to know before Syracuse faces off against Colgate: 

All-time series:

Syracuse leads 15-0

Last time they played:

Around this same time last year, Syracuse hosted Colgate in its seventh game of the season. At the time, newly appointed interim head coach Vonn Read was hoping to snap a three-game losing skid that saw the Orange get off to a 2-4 start. 

Leading substantially throughout and weathering a late Raider comeback, SU earned its third win of the season in a 79-57 triumph. Chrislyn Carr led the way for the Orange with 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting, part of a double-digit scoring trio for Syracuse that night. Najé Murray added 17 and Teisha Hyman chipped in with an additional 16. After the victory, Syracuse went on to win its next five games, including a 97-91 upset over then-ranked Ohio State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

The Raiders report: 

Last season, Colgate finished 6-24 overall and 4-14 in conference play, placing ninth out of 10 teams in the Patriot league. Now in her second year as head coach, Ganiyat Adeduntan has brought back 10 returners while welcoming five new freshmen and one transfer. 

Guard Taylor Golembiewski led the team in scoring during her freshman year last season and returns this season. Colgate kept all five of its top scorers from last season and added Chidinma Okafor to its roster. Okafor averaged 12.9 points and 8.0 rebounds a game for South Carolina-Aiken in 2021-22. Loaded up with inexperienced talent, it’ll be interesting to see how Adeduntan and her coaching staff utilize their underclassmen given Golembiewski’s success as a freshman.

Emma Kelly | Design Editor

How Syracuse beats Colgate:

Against Stony Brook, Syracuse saw most of its success come in close around the hoop and that’ll be the key to success against Colgate. The Raiders have three players over six feet while the Orange have four. Though Okafor’s 6’3” frame perfectly matches the heights in SU’s frontcourt — Olivia Owens, Dariauna Lewis and Asia Strong — the Orange’s relentless rebounding should eventually wear Colgate down. 

The backcourt pairing of Dyaisha Fair and Hyman combined for 34 points, 14 rebounds and eight steals last time out. The two combo-guards found success trapping their opponents against the sidelines and baseline, poking the ball loose, and finishing on the other hand for a plethora of easy transition buckets. 

As long as Fair and Hyman can link up properly with their front court while keeping their turnovers to a minimum given the teams fast pace of play, this should be an easy win for Syracuse.

Stat to know: 63.1

Not only did Colgate finish ninth place in the Patriot League last season, it also finished the year allowing an average of 63.1 points per game — the second highest in its conference. 

Against Stony Brook, the Orange scored 79 points. Fair totaled 37 points across SU’s first two games of the season — one of which was an exhibition against Le Moyne. Add Hyman’s team-high 16.2 points per game average from last year, and the Orange will pick apart the Colgate defense. 

Player to watch: Taylor Golembiewski, guard, No. 5: 

As a freshman last year, Golembiewski averaged a team-best 10.1 points per game to go along with 2.5 assists. Through 28 games last season, Golembiewski finished with 21 points on two separate occasions and produced double-digit scoring numbers 15 times. Golembiewski ended her freshman campaign a part of the Patriot League All-Rookie Team. 

This season, in Colgate’s opening game against Cornell, Golembiewski led all scorers with 22 points on 8-17 shooting in a 62-48 win. Watch for the Raiders to run their offense early around Golembiewski’s shooting ability.