Colgate @ Syracuse preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2016 ) Colgate 55, Syracuse 83

Syracuse freshman Matthew Moyer had his best game of the season the last time out, although coach Jim Boeheim noted that Moyer hadn't set the bar very high. He aims for a second straight terrific outing Saturday when the Orange host Colgate.

In Tuesday's nine-point win over Connecticut at Madison Square Garden, Moyer scored a career-high 18 points after entering with an average of 2.4 points per game. "He's been horrible all year. Horrible is being nice," Boeheim said after the game. "He was terrific tonight and I think he can build on this." Fellow freshman Oshae Brissett notched a double-double against UConn with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Tyus Battle continued to enjoy a nice season with 22 points and five steals. Syracuse has won a staggering 51 straight matchups with Colgate, which enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, Regional Sports Network

ABOUT COLGATE (3-5): The Raiders nearly pulled off a miracle win against Marist on Wednesday, when Sean O'Brien made a half-court shot at the buzzer, only to have the shot waved off after roughly five minutes of replay review. Still, Colgate rallied from 19 points down with about 15 minutes left and placed four players in double-figures, led by Will Rayman (17 points on 7-of-12 shooting). Rayman averages a team-high 16.6 points and leads the team with 7.1 rebounds, plus his 3-point percentage (59.1) is the best in the nation among players with at least 40 attempts from the arc.

ABOUT SYRACUSE (7-1): The Orange rank 337th out of 351 Division I teams in 3-point shooting (27.4) and have only one player - Battle (32.7) - shooting at least 30 percent from the arc. Battle averages a team-high 20.3 points but committed a season-high four turnovers against UConn, while backcourt mate Frank Howard had nine turnovers. Howard also shot 1-of-10 in that contest en route to a season-low five points, although his scoring average (14.3) is still second on the squad.

TIP-INS

1. Moyer shot 7-of-9 against UConn after entering 7-of-19 on the season.

2. The Orange have scored between 71 and 80 points in all seven wins.

3. Brissett has three double-doubles in the last four games.

PREDICTION: Syracuse 79, Colgate 69