Given recent basketball developments, strap in for six overtimes
Teams: Syracuse Orange (7-3, 4-3) vs UConn Huskies (7-3)
Day & Time: Saturday, November 23, 12:00 pm ET
Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Line: Syracuse looks good for a comfortable home win according to Fanduel’s odds. The Orange are currently -10.5 point favorites.
TV/Streaming: ACC Network, WatchESPN
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3, Sirius/XM 98 or 204
Rivalry: Tied, 6-6
Current Streak: 4, Syracuse
First Meeting: UConn may have totaled 566 yards of offense, with 445 of them coming from Dan Orlovsky, but Syracuse hung tough with 406 yards of offense. The difference maker came with the Orange defense forcing six turnovers which led to a 42-30 victory over the Huskies back in the Dome on October 30, 2004
Last Meeting: The hot start to the 2022 season included a 48-14 win at UConn in early September. Garrett Shrader threw for 287 and three touchdowns on 20-23 passing. He and Sean Tucker rushed for three touchdowns as well.
Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
Head Coaches: Syracuse: Fran Brown (first year, 7-3) | UConn: Jim Mora (third year, 16-10)
Coach Bio: Mora walked on to the University of Washington football team as a defensive back and linebacker. He jumped quickly to the NFL coaching ranks after college, starting with the San Diego Chargers as a defensive quality control coach before taking over as the defensive backs coach. He then joined the New Orleans Saints as the DBs coach, joining his father who was the head coach. The younger Mora then joined the San Francisco 49ers as their defensive coordinator. After that, Mora became the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He was only in charge for three seasons before getting fired. Mora returned to coaching with the Seattle Seahawks as an assistant head coach before taking over the head coaching duties for a season.
Mora found success as the head coach at UCLA. He had two 10-win seasons in his first three years at the helm of the Bruins. However, Mora struggled later on in his UCLA career, getting fired halfway through his sixth season. His return to coaching came with UConn, where he spent time getting to know his team as an offensive assistant towards the end of the 2021 season before taking over the reins of the job full time for the 2022 season.
Last Year: UConn struggled in Mora’s second season at the helm of the Huskies. UConn only managed three wins. Only two of those wins came against FBS competition in Rice and UMass.
Last Game: UConn completed a furious comeback at UAB after trailing 23-10 going into the fourth quarter. A 4th-and-goal touchdown started the rally with 8:45 left in the fourth quarter. The first UAB play after the score was a botched jet sweep from shotgun that resulted in a UConn fumble recovery. The Huskies scored on the ensuing drive and scored once more with 2:39 left in the game to secure a 31-23 victory in Alabama.
Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: UConn will go with the BC tactic of leaning on the running game to generate offense. The attack is led by Durell Robinson, who has seven rushing touchdowns on 6.9 average yards per carry.
If Syracuse Wins: Eight wins in Fran Brown’s first season is an achievement worthy of great celebration.
If Syracuse Loses: In exchange for the win, Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma will each give Syracuse basketball one of their five-star recruits.
Fun Fact: The Orange will honor former head coach Dick MacPherson at halftime by inducing him into the Syracuse Ring of honor at the JMA Wireless Dome.