Syracuse basketball wraps up its two-game road trip out west on Saturday night when the Orange plays at California.
Earlier this week, at Stanford, the 'Cuse got down by an embarrassing count of 25-2 in the first half. Syracuse basketball, to its credit, would claw back, but the Cardinal ultimately hung on for a 70-61 home victory.
The Orange now has lost three straight. In that Atlantic Coast Conference affair, injured freshman power forward Donnie Freeman missed his seventh consecutive game. I have little confidence that Freeman will play again in the 2024-25 season, but that's just my gut instinct. I hope that I'm wrong.
Turnovers continue to hamper Syracuse basketball. Against Stanford this past Wednesday evening, the Orange committed 14 turnovers. The Cardinal held a 19-9 edge in points off turnovers, and it also scored a half-dozen more points at the charity stripe.
How to watch Syracuse basketball at California on Saturday.
The 'Cuse (9-12, 3-7 in the ACC) will battle the Golden Bears starting at 10:00 pm EST on Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. This conference clash will air on ESPN2 and is also available via live streaming on FuboTV.
California, Stanford and SMU are new members of the ACC in the 2024-25 campaign. Since Cal and Stanford are on Pacific Standard Time, the Orange's games are naturally going to commence later where I am on the east coast.
However, the 'Cuse contest at the Cardinal began at 11:00 pm. And now Syracuse basketball will face Cal (11-10, 4-6 in the ACC) at 10:00 pm. Respectfully, that's just way too late.
In any event, the Golden Bears were forecast to finish at No. 16 in the ACC standings during 2024-25, per the league's preseason media poll. When I wrote this article, California had an NCAA NET ranking of No. 118, making this a quadrant-two game for the Orange, which has a current NET of No. 141 overall.
To date in the current term, the Golden Bears have beaten Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly, Southern California, Air Force, Sacramento State, Mercyhurst, Northwestern State, Virginia, N.C. State, Florida State and Miami.
Conversely, Cal has lost to Vanderbilt, Missouri, Stanford, Cornell, San Diego State, Pittsburgh, Clemson, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and SMU.
Per SU Athletics, Syracuse basketball is 3-1 in its all-time series with California, including a 66-60 victory in the round of 32 at the 2013 NCAA Tournament, during which the Orange journeyed all the way to the Final Four.
This season, both the 'Cuse and the Golden Bears are among the worst defensive squads in the ACC. Heading into Saturday evening's affair, Syracuse basketball is allowing 77.6 points per game, as compared to 75.6 points per contest for California.
Neither group is particularly strong at shooting the ball, either. Cal makes 43.1 percent from the field, 74.8 percent from the free-throw line and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Orange connect on 45.3 percent from the field, 68.8 percent from the charity stripe and 31.2 percent from 3-point land.