Get that caffeine ready, Syracuse basketball fans. The Orange returns to the court for a late start on Thursday night, as the 'Cuse will welcome Atlantic 10 Conference member Saint Joseph's to the JMA Wireless Dome.
It was more than a week ago when Syracuse basketball (5-3 overall) stunned then-No. 13 Tennessee at home, 62-60, in the ACC/SEC Challenge. That was a massive win for the Orange's non-conference resume.
Next up, the 'Cuse will host the Hawks (6-3 overall), a team that has won four straight. Saint Joseph's, picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic 10, according to the league's preseason poll, is led by first-year head coach Steve Donahue. In September, Donahue took over the Hawks after head coach Billy Lange joined the NBA's New York Knicks in a front-office role.
Syracuse basketball and Saint Joseph's, tied 4-4 in their all-time series, were originally supposed to play in Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 22. But the non-conference contest got moved to the Hill on Thursday, Dec. 11. That's not as ideal for the Orange's post-season resume, because a neutral-site win would carry more weight in the NCAA NET rankings than a home triumph.
How to watch Syracuse basketball against Saint Joseph's.
The Orange and the Hawks are scheduled to tip off on Thursday, beginning at 9:00 pm EST, with television coverage on the ACC Network. When I wrote this article, FanDuel had the 'Cuse as a 12.5-point betting favorite, with the over/under set at 144.5 points.
Currently, KenPom has Syracuse basketball at No. 63 overall. Saint Joseph's is No. 176. In the NCAA's NET ratings, the Orange is No. 75. The Hawks are No. 245, making this a quadrant-four encounter for the 'Cuse.
Syracuse basketball has five non-conference affairs left before Atlantic Coast Conference competition commences. The Orange needs to win those five games - and each of them convincingly - to head into league play at 10-3 overall. That will provide the 'Cuse with a solid non-conference resume as Syracuse basketball attempts to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.
Hopefully, sophomore power forward Donnie Freeman will return soon. He's only appeared in four games thus far in the 2025-26 season due to a lower-body injury, although Freeman was leading the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game before he got injured. On Wednesday afternoon, a Syracuse basketball spokesperson told me that Freeman's status against Saint Joseph's is "to be determined. He is still day-to-day."
A quick heads up on Donnie Freeman. The sophomore power forward's status for Syracuse's home game against Saint Joseph's on Thursday night is "to be determined. He is still day-to-day," a team spokesperson tells me. Freeman has missed the past four games with a lower-body injury.
— InsideTheLoudHouse (@LoudHouseFS) December 10, 2025
Like the Orange, Saint Joseph's is not a good 3-point shooting squad, at just 28.2 percent. However, the Hawks connect on 81.3 percent from the free-throw line, as compared to only 57.3 percent from the charity stripe for the 'Cuse.
Saint Joseph's commits 12.7 turnovers per game. Syracuse basketball will want to feast on the Hawks' miscues and convert those mistakes into easy fast-break points out in transition.