Syracuse opened the Adrian Autry era and the 2023-24 basketball season with a 83-72 win over New Hampshire.

Here are some key takeaways from the game.

Adrian Autry’s exhibition game plan of “as much playing time as Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling can handle” was in effect for at least the first half of the first regular season contest.

Both were in the game until Mintz was relieved with 8:39 left in the first half and Starling played over 15 minutes before getting a break. Mintz ended up getting extended rest after halftime due to four fouls on his stat line.

Mintz seemed to take the Orange offense to the bench with him when he left in the first half. Syracuse made one shot from the floor the rest of the period.

Benny Williams remained suspended for a violation of team rules and did not play in the game. Chris Bell and Justin Taylor started at the forward spots, as they did in the exhibition matchup against the College of Saint Rose.

Taylor had a bumpy first half, turning the ball over four times and getting whistled for two fouls. His second half was a sharp contrast, logging 16 minutes and hanging a dozen points.

New Hampshire scored on consecutive possessions shortly around the eight-minute mark of the first half, taking advantage of Naheem McLeod being away from the rim.

The first bucket came when McLeod was above the free throw line to guard his opposite number, then the latter came in a transition chance where the Wildcats beat the SU big man down the floor.

Those two scores were the foundation of UNH’s best run of the night, an 18-6 advantage to get within 38-27.

Syracuse had a rough night from long range, hitting just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc in the first half.

They spent a portion of the second session playing like they were proving they could make perimeter shots until Kyle Cuffe Jr. made one and Taylor drilled a pair around the middle of the second half to keep the team afloat.

The team finished 5-of-21 on 3s in the game.

Cuffe entered the game less than seven minutes of the clock, effectively giving the Orange a four-guard lineup with Mintz, Starling, and Quadir Copeland already on the floor.

It is probably not an alignment SU will rely on frequently over the course of the season, but UNH’s lack of size and SU’s available players allowed Autry to experiment with a variety of lineups.

The flip side of the churn featuring the smaller players on the roster was that McLeod, Maliq Brown, and Peter Carey were a three-man rotation at center, getting eight, seven, and five minutes on the floor in the first half.

Brown dominated the second half playing time of the trio, playing the final 12:02 of the night.

----

Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!

Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.

Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.

Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.