The unbeaten Syracuse University men's basketball team will be back in action on Tuesday night (9 p.m. ET) at the JMA Wireless Dome. They'll host Monmouth of the MAAC.

The Hawks enter play at 1-2 and coming off a 12-point loss against Seton Hall.

The Orange are 3-0 after walloping Drexel 80-50 on Saturday afternoon. Each win this season has been by 30 points or more.

In huge lineup news, Syracuse will get back J.J. Starling, who led the team in scoring a season ago (17.8 ppg). The senior, and Syracuse native, has played just three minutes this season because of a right leg injury suffered in the season opener against Binghamton.

After Saturday's win, head coach Adrian Autry said the group isn't completely whole without him on the floor.

"He's our captain, he's our leader, so for our team to be whole, for this program to be where we think we can be, he's a big part of it and we need him."

The big question

With Starling back in the fold, how will Autry handle the lineup? Is he going to remove Kiyan Anthony from the starting lineup after scoring 19 and 18 points in the last two games? Can he remove him, or is that genie already out of the bottle?

He may be able to bring Starling off the bench, for at least one game, as part of an "easing" in process, but that's just putting a band-aid on a bigger conversation.

Other things to know ahead of the matchup

--Syracuse currently has the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation (46.7 ppg), and that is 4.3 ppg better than any other team defensively (San Diego State, 51.0).

--William Kyle III is 54th in the nation in rebounds per game (9.3), but he's played a lessened workload because of the three blowouts.

--The Orange are eighth in the nation in blocks per game (7.7).

--Syracuse has the best field-goal percentage defense in the nation at 28.4 percent.

--On the flip side? The Orange are one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the nation so far at 63.5 percent. That's 319th in Division I.

--They are also 243rd in three-point percentage at 31.1 percent.

Our coverage

Our own Tom Goslowski will be live on-site at the JMA Wireless Dome, part of our season-long coverage of Orange Basketball at the Dome. You can follow him on "X" @TomGozz.

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SEAN TUCKER's BIG DAY: The former Orange running back had a big day in his return to New York as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. CLICK HERE: 

THE JUICING STATION: After Saturday's win against Drexel, Adrian Autry gave credit to an unlikely crew. CLICK HERE: 

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