Syracuse basketball eyes its first quadrant-one victory of the 2024-25 season when the Orange travels to surging Clemson on Wednesday evening in an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown.
The 'Cuse, after mounting a massive comeback to beat Notre Dame at home over the weekend, has now won three of its past four games, although Syracuse basketball needs to start piling up triumphs to have any shot of reaching post-season play, beyond this season's ACC Tournament.
Next up for the Orange (9-9, 3-4 in the ACC) is a road date with Clemson (15-4, 7-1 in the ACC), which has won three straight and six of its last seven affairs. Projected to finish at No. 4 in the league standings, per the ACC's preseason media poll, the Tigers are currently jockeying with several conference foes for second place behind No. 2 Duke.
While Clemson doesn't reside in the latest Associated Press and Coaches top-25 polls, the Tigers are receiving votes in both ballots. Head coach Brad Brownell, after guiding Clemson to a terrific Elite Eight journey this past spring in the NCAA Tournament, has his program well-positioned to make a return trip to the 2025 Big Dance.
How to watch Syracuse basketball at Clemson and some key storylines.
The Orange will square off with the Tigers on Wednesday, Jan. 22, inside Littlejohn Coliseum. The tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm and will air on the ACC Network, with live-streaming coverage also available on FuboTV.
Per SU Athletics, the 'Cuse is just 6-9 in its all-time series with Clemson, and the Tigers have prevailed on three straight occasions. Entering this ACC encounter, Syracuse basketball has an NCAA NET ranking of No. 153 overall, as compared to No. 31 for the Tigers.
Clemons's NET rating, within the ACC, only trails Duke and Louisville. Wednesday evening's game is a quadrant-one opportunity for the Orange, and the 'Cuse has yet to notch a quad-one victory to date in 2024-25.
Naturally, Syracuse basketball fans will be eager to see if freshman power forward Donnie Freeman, who is dealing with a lower right leg injury, comes back for the Orange's game at Clemson. He's missed four consecutive contests.
In his absence, both graduate student center Eddie Lampkin Jr. and senior forward Jyare Davis have put forth some strong performances, but the 'Cuse needs Freeman to return sooner rather than later to really make a move in ACC competition.
Here is Clemson's 2024-25 resume to date. The Tigers have beaten Charleston Southern, Saint Francis (Pa.), Eastern Kentucky, Radford, San Francisco, Penn State, Florida A&M, Kentucky, Miami, Wake Forest, Stanford, California, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh.
On the flip side, Clemon's four setbacks are to Boise State, Memphis, South Carolina and Louisville.
The Tigers' two best players, senior forward Ian Schieffelin and graduate student guard Chase Hunter, were both named to the preseason All-ACC second team. Schieffelin averages 13.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
Hunter averages a team-high 17.6 points per contest, along with 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per encounter. He makes 45.5 percent of his 3-point attempts, which was No. 1 in the ACC when I wrote this article. Needless to say, the Orange's perimeter defense will have to lock in on Hunter.
For the season, Clemson averages 77.2 points per game and allows 66.7 points, along with 35.3 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 3.4 blocks, 7.5 steals and 10.8 turnovers. Syracuse basketball scores 75.1 points and gives up 77.6 points per contest, along with 38.2 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 2.7 blocks, 4.9 steals and 12.4 turnovers.
The Tigers make 46.2 percent from the field, 78.1 percent from the free-throw line and an impressive 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, which was also No. 1 in the conference at the time of this writing. The 'Cuse hits on 45.2 percent from the field, 68.9 percent from the charity stripe and 29.6 percent from 3-point land.
It will be a tall task for Syracuse basketball to upset Clemson on the road, given that the Orange's defense has struggled a lot this term, and the Tigers are excellent from downtown. What's more, in the ACC, Clemson was No. 3 in turnover margin when I penned this piece, while Syracuse basketball was No. 17 out of 18 league schools.
To its credit, the 'Cuse played great defense in the second half this past Saturday against Notre Dame. The Orange needs to get off to a fast start versus Clemson, play tenacious defense, not allow a ton of 3-pointers, and take care of the ball with precision to have a shot versus the Tigers.