The Syracuse Orange men's basketball team is readying for its first exhibition test of the season, which comes on Tuesday night against the UConn Huskies at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

On paper, this exhibition seems like a mismatch. After all, UConn is coming off a year in which it got to the national title game for the third time in four years. Syracuse, on the other hand, went 15-17, was under .500 within the ACC, and failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season.

The Orange also fired former head coach Adrian Autry and replaced him with former standout Gerry McNamara.

However, there are reasons for optimism for the Orange, namely because of the depth of the roster that McNamara has built. While Syracuse might lack a "top-end" star on its roster, it does have several players capable of putting up big nights on any given night: Gavin Doty, Kiyan Anthony, Aiden Tobiason, Amarri Monroe and Luke Wilson, just to name a few. Each of those players except Anthony was brought in via the transfer portal.

Monroe is the former MAAC Player of the Year (2024-25) and Doty was an All-MAAC selection at Siena.

Another reason for optimism?

Huskies head coach Dan Hurley has to figure out how to replace two NBA players in Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban. He also has to replace starting guard Solo Ball, who is expected to miss the entire season with injury.

There are questions to answer for this Huskies team, and those are questions that McNamara's team can help exploit.

The overall results on Tuesday night don't really matter. What matters is how Syracuse plays and the hopeful confidence that can come from it.

This UConn team is not as good now as it will be later in the year, so the hope is that SU can derive confidence from the performance. And that that confidence can spring them forward into the season ahead.

The two teams will play at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday and the game will air regionally on NBC Sports Boston.

The women's programs will also play in the exhibition showcase, but that matchup will be Monday night at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Orange were eliminated by UConn in last year's NCAA Tournament in the Round of 32.

The Orange had beaten Iowa State in the Round of 64 to advance to that matchup.