Syracuse University’s men’s basketball team will begin its Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schedule against Clemson on December 31 at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange, holding a 9-4 record from non-conference play, recently defeated Stonehill 77-48 to close out their early season games.
Throughout the non-conference portion of their schedule, Syracuse emphasized defense, limiting their first three opponents—Binghamton, Delaware State, and Drexel—to 50 points or fewer and winning by an average margin of 36 points. After a strong start at home, the team traveled to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival where they faced ranked teams including Houston, Kansas, and Iowa State. Although they lost those matchups, all three teams are currently ranked in national polls.
Back on their home court for six games after Las Vegas, Syracuse went 5-1 and recorded a notable win over then-No. 13 Tennessee. Overall, the Orange finished non-conference play with an 8-1 home record and have held opponents to an average of 64.8 points per game through 13 contests—a mark that ranks among the top in Division I.
Key players contributed despite challenges with injuries. Leading scorer Donnie Freeman missed nine games due to injury but other members of the roster stepped up. Senior guard J.J. Starling has averaged 12.4 points per game since returning from his own absence and scored 20 points against Stonehill ahead of ACC play.
Senior William Kyle III has had an impact defensively with 43 blocks so far this season—ranking second nationally—and leads the ACC in that category by a significant margin. He also averages 10.5 points per game with a team-high number of dunks.
Junior Naithan George transferred from Georgia Tech and enters conference play following two consecutive games with at least 22 points—the highest individual scoring output for Syracuse this year—and leads the team in assists.
Senior Nate Kingz leads Syracuse in three-pointers made and is tied for second on the team in rebounds; he has scored double figures in five of his last six games.
Freshmen Sadiq White Jr. and Kiyan Anthony have also contributed significantly: Anthony is third on the team in scoring while White Jr. shares second place in rebounds.
Six different players have averaged double-digit scoring during home games at the Dome this season: Freeman (19.3), Starling (11.6), Kingz (11.4), George (11.2), Anthony (11.1), and Kyle III (10.9).
Clemson arrives at Syracuse with a 10-3 record and a three-game winning streak including victories over South Carolina, Cincinnati, and Mercer. Their non-conference schedule included matchups against BYU, Alabama, Georgia, and West Virginia; they split those four games evenly.
The Tigers were predicted to finish seventh in this year’s ACC preseason poll after last season’s NCAA Tournament appearance but return with a largely new lineup as all five leading scorers from last year have departed.
RJ Godfrey leads Clemson offensively with an average of 11.3 points per game along with a team-high number of rebounds after returning from Georgia this offseason.
Jestin Porter is just behind Godfrey averaging 10.5 points per game while leading Clemson in three-pointers made; he joined Clemson after earning Second Team All-Conference USA honors at Middle Tennessee State last season.
Defensively strong as well, Clemson holds opponents to just under 66 points per contest while limiting them to below .273 shooting from beyond the arc.
Head coach Brad Brownell is now in his sixteenth season at Clemson where he has accumulated more than 300 wins and led last year’s squad to an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament—the program’s best showing under his tenure.
The upcoming matchup marks the eighteenth meeting between Syracuse and Clemson; Clemson leads the series overall having won eleven times including their most recent encounter last January.
Tickets for both individual games and full seasons are available online at cuse.com/feature/basketball-tickets.
