It was officially announced earlier today that Syracuse basketball has added Colgate as a non-conference home opponent for the 2024 season. The Orange will host the Raiders on November 12th for the 176th contest between the two squads. While Colgate might seem like an easy non-conference foe, SU has struggled in recent years against the Raiders. The Orange have only won one game in the last three matchups. So, what have those three games looked like, and will Syracuse be able to come out winners once again this year? Let’s dive into all of that and more.
Colgate 100-85 Syracuse 11/20/21
In the 173rd edition of Syracuse and Colgate, the Raiders finally broke the streak. Coming into the matchup, Colgate hadn’t beaten Syracuse in 54 straight tries. But in just the third game of SU’s campaign, history would not repeat itself. The Raiders dealt Jim Boeheim his first loss of his coaching career at SU against Colgate by draining 18 total three pointers in the contest.
Colgate 80-68 Syracuse 11/15/22
In just Syracuse’s second game of the 2022 season, it would once again fall short to Colgate. The Raiders played spoiler, denying Jim Boeheim his 1,000th career win as a coach. Colgate’s Tucker Richardson exposed the flaws of Boeheim’s 2-3 zone all night long, scoring 27 points, 21 of those coming from three point range. The victory marked Colgate’s second straight win in two seasons over SU. It was the first time the Raiders took two straight over the Orange since the 1961-62 season.
Syracuse 79-75 Colgate 11/14/23
The Orange finally took down the Raiders in the dome last year, but it wasn’t anywhere near an easy win for SU. Syracuse trailed by as many as 24 points in the contest, before mounting an improbable comeback to take the victory. The 24 point comeback marked the second largest come from behind victory in the ACC. The win snapped SU’s two game losing streak across two seasons to Colgate.
In recent years, Colgate’s play when visiting Syracuse is starkly different to the past. The game is no longer considered an “easy win” for SU. It’s crucial for Syracuse to handle business against Colgate this fall espcially with a tough non-conference slate, but anything can happen when the Raiders visit the 315.
