It's been quite the two-game return for Syracuse basketball power forward Donnie Freeman. He's averaging 22.5 points and nine rebounds per contest, and the 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore put forth a career performance on Tuesday night in leading the Orange to a much-needed Atlantic Coast Conference road win over Georgia Tech, 82-72.
Freeman had missed the nine previous encounters due to a lower-body injury. He came back on New Year's Eve and erupted in the second half, finishing with 18 points and nine boards, although the Orange fell at home to Clemson, 64-61.
"Doing what I love and doing it with the people I love"
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) January 7, 2026
Donnie after dropping a career-high 27 in his first start since returning from injury pic.twitter.com/ADomXAW7yp
On Tuesday evening in Atlanta, the 'Cuse mounted a second-half lead of 20 points, but the team's defensive intensity stalled in the second half, while the Orange's half-court offense became stagnant. Still, Syracuse basketball was able to stave off the Yellow Jackets (10-6, 1-2 in the ACC) in Atlanta, 82-72.
Freeman mounted Syracuse basketball's charge, finishing with a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds, to go along with two assists, three blocks and one steal. Junior point guard Naithan George, playing against his former team, tallied 17 points, including an important 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Kiyan Anthony, the freshman guard/wing, added 11 points in 18 minutes. The Orange is now 11-9 in its all-time series with the Yellow Jackets. Tuesday's victory is a quadrant-three win, for the time being, for Syracuse basketball, which on Wednesday morning checked in at No. 84 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Syracuse basketball notched its first ACC triumph on Tuesday night.
The 'Cuse (10-5 overall, 1-1 in the ACC) will next travel to Pittsburgh this Saturday afternoon, beginning at 2:00 pm EST and with coverage on the ACC Network.
If the Orange wants to have any sort of realistic chance at entering the conversation for a possible at-large invite to this spring's NCAA Tournament, the 'Cuse has to take care of business over its next three games before a more challenging slate arrives.
Here's the team's trio of near-term ACC affairs:
Saturday, Jan. 10, Syracuse basketball at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh's NET: No. 111 (quadrant-two game)
Tuesday, Jan. 13, Syracuse basketball versus Florida State at the JMA Wireless Dome
Florida State's NET: No. 114 (quadrant-three game)
Saturday, Jan. 17, Syracuse basketball at Boston College
Boston College's NET: No. 193 (quadrant-three game)
If the Orange sweeps those encounters, the Orange would move to 13-5 overall and 4-1 in ACC games, and that would include three road victories. That's big time, as the 'Cuse would then prepare to face more difficult foes such as Virginia Tech, Miami and N.C. State, followed by North Carolina, Virginia and Duke later on down the road.
With Freeman back in the fold, the Orange's prospects seem brighter, although other Syracuse basketball players have to compete at a more consistent level, too.