Syracuse basketball heads to Atlanta on Tuesday night to face Georgia Tech in the Orange's second Atlantic Coast Conference clash in the 2025-26 season.
The 'Cuse, on New Year's Eve, fell to a good Clemson team at the JMA Wireless Dome, 64-61, spoiling the much-anticipated return of Syracuse basketball sophomore power forward Donnie Freeman, who was excellent in the second half.
Now the Orange must regroup and prepare for the Yellow Jackets, a squad that is on somewhat of a roll lately. The 'Cuse (9-5 overall, 0-1 in the ACC) and Georgia Tech (10-5, 1-1 in the ACC) will go toe to toe beginning at 7 pm EST on Tuesday evening at the McCamish Pavilion, with coverage on the ACC Network.
In their all-time series together, per SU Athletics, Syracuse basketball is 10-9 against the Yellow Jackets. Most recently, in January of last year, the Orange beat Georgia Tech, 62-55, on the Hill.
The latest betting odds for Syracuse basketball at Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
When I wrote this column on Tuesday morning, FanDuel had the 'Cuse as a 3.5-point betting favorite on the road versus the Yellow Jackets, with the over/under set at 147.5 points.
At the time of this writing, the Orange's NCAA NET ranking checked in at No. 90 overall, while Georgia Tech is No. 147. That makes this ACC road affair a quadrant-three game for Syracuse basketball, a contest that the 'Cuse can ill-afford to lose.
According to an availability report submitted by Georgia Tech to the ACC, the Yellow Jackets will be without talented freshman center Mouhamed Sylla. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Sylla, so far this season, has averaged 10.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest while making 59.5 percent from the field.
Recently, Georgia Tech has won five of its past six games, albeit against some not-too-heavy competition. However, the Yellow Jackets also took highly ranked Duke to the brink of an upset, with the Blue Devils ultimately prevailing at home, 85-79.
Georgia Tech shares the ball well, averaging 17.3 assists per encounter while also hitting on a solid 35.8 percent from 3-point range. Where the Orange will want to feast on the Yellow Jackets is in the turnover department, as Georgia Tech commits 13.9 miscues per game.
It will be important for Syracuse basketball to turn the Yellow Jackets over at a strong rate and convert those mistakes into easy transition buckets.