Seattle @ Syracuse preview

Syracuse looked much improved in its second game of the season, but in reality there was nowhere to go but up. The Orange hope to post back-to-back wins for the first time this season Saturday when they host Seattle in non-league play.

In their opener, the Orange were embarrassed by defending champion Virginia 48-34 as they shot only 23.6 percent from the floor and didn't score 20 points in either half. They actually missed their first nine shots against Colgate on Wednesday, but they rallied for a 70-54 win in a game that didn't do much for coach Jim Boeheim's confidence level. "You lose your first (game and after) you get off to a slow start starting the second game, we had to rely on our defense," Boeheim said. "Our defense was really good just to keep the game reasonable, which we did against Virginia, but we have to get our offense going better." Meanwhile, Seattle rolled over Division III foe Pacific Oregon its last time out but could struggle against Syracuse's 2-3 zone.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT SEATTLE (2-2): Myles Carter poured in 37 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Pacific, making 11-of-12 shots and 15-of-17 foul shots in a terrific all-around performance. In the team's last game against a Division I opponent, Jacob Davison had 25 points in a loss to Eastern Washington, while Kim Aiken Jr. chipped in 11 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Terrell Brown actually is the leading scorer on the team with an average of 22.5 points, and he is coming off a strong effort against Pacific (19 points on 8-of-9 shooting).

ABOUT SYRACUSE (1-1): Buddy Boeheim led the Orange with 17 points against Colgate, while Elijah Hughes had 14 and Bourama Sidibe pitched in 12 points and 14 rebounds. Sidibe's double-double was the third of his career and served in stark contrast to his performance against Virginia (four points, two rebounds). Boeheim was 3-of-12 from the field in the opener and was 1-of-8 from the arc in that one before going 7-of-14 (3-of-5 on 3s) against Colgate.

TIP-INS

1. Hughes had a career-high eight assists against Colgate.

2. This is the first meeting between the schools.

3. The win over Pacific was the 400th in the coaching career of Seattle's Jim Hayford.

PREDICTION: Syracuse 62, Seattle 54