Syracuse Men’s Basketball: Nine Takeaways From Exhibition Loss to UConn

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team kicked off the Gerry McNamara-era with a loss against the UConn Huskies in the team’s first exhibition game of the season on Tuesday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Orange, who are coming off a 15-17 season a year ago, had some strong moments, but ultimately fell 72-52.

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Here’s what you need to know from the contest. The takeaways are in no particular order.

Syracuse struggled in the half-court offense, especially in the first half. The way they combatted that was by getting out and running. At every turn, especially early, McNamara was imploring his guards to push the tempo. If the Orange are going to be successful, they’ll have to be able to move the pace and use their athleticism. That athleticism is one of their greatest assets.

The freshman, who is the only true freshman from the United States on this roster, followed McNamara from Siena to Syracuse and instantly showed what he could do. While he didn’t score much (4 points, 1-of-10 shooting), he successfully helped push the fast break, initiated offense, and didn’t seem physically overmatched by ball pressure. He also showed a craftiness in maneuvering with the ball in his hands. He had a really nice finish out of the U-12 media timeout in the second half.

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One of the biggest stories that we wanted to see coming in was how Kiyan Anthony’s physical transformation manifested itself on the floor. While he still struggled from the outside (0-for-5 from three), he did have a better time getting to the rim and navigating contact. He’s crafty with the ball in his hands and will probably always rely more on his artistry than his strength, but he showed the ability to absorb the contact in a different way than a season ago.

He finished with six points.

We thought this in the summer based on social media videos from the Syracuse accounts, but it was fully evident in this setting. He started the game and made sure to get all his teammates…

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Publish date : 2026-10-14 01:09:00

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