Syracuse and Indiana will meet Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, putting two unbeaten teams on the same floor in an early nonconference test. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, and the game arrives with both programs 2-0 as of Nov. 5.
That is the part that gives the matchup its pull for Indiana basketball watchers and Syracuse followers alike: neither team has stumbled yet, even if last season told a different story. Syracuse went 15-17 and Indiana finished 18-14, which makes this meeting more than a routine November date. It is a quick check on whether either team is playing above its recent record or simply surviving an easy opening stretch.
Gavin Doty has been one of the reasons Syracuse can point to the start as real. He has 18 rebounds through two games, is averaging 16 points a night and had 13 rebounds in the opener against New Haven. He is also 4-for-8 from 3-point range and has yet to commit a turnover in 60 minutes with the Orange. Those are efficient numbers, and they matter because Indiana has forced 31 turnovers already this season.
Markus Burton gives Indiana a different kind of early-season line. He scored 19 points on eight shots against Eastern Illinois, then followed that with two points on 0-for-7 shooting against Bellarmine. He leads Indiana with nine assists, made all three of his 3-point tries in the opener and picked up five fouls in 25 minutes against Bellarmine. Bryce Lindsay has been the most productive scorer off the Indiana bench, making six 3-pointers, scoring 15 against Bellarmine with four assists and adding 14 points in 24 minutes against Eastern Illinois.
The contrast is where the game gets interesting. Syracuse opponents have turned it over 22 times this season, while Indiana has forced 31, so the Orange will be tested by pressure that has already shown up on the stat sheet. Doty’s clean possession game runs straight at that problem, and that is the central matchup inside a game that otherwise looks evenly matched on paper.
By Monday night, one of those starts will either look stronger or less convincing than it does now. The first real answer comes at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where both teams will have to turn two unbeaten records into something sturdier.
