Clemson Basketball: Syracuse Preview

Game Information

Location: The warehouse/meat locker formerly known as the Carrier Dome.

Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2025

Tip Time: 2 PM

Channel: ESPN 2

2025-2026 Season

Record: 9-4

AP Rank: NR

Previous 3 Games

12/22: W – 77-48 vs Stonehill

12/20: W – 91 – 83 vs Northeastern

12/17: W – 76 – 62 vs Mercyhurst

Key Analytics

(Per KenPom – National Rank in ())

Offense

Adjusted Efficiency: 113 (105)

Adjusted Tempo: 68.5 (207)

Average Possession Length: 16.4 (90)

Effective Field Goal%: 52.3 (135)

Offensive Rebound%: 32.1 (153)

Three Point%: 30.8 (279)

Two Point %: 55.9 (69)

Defense

Adjusted Efficiency: 102.1 (62)

Adjusted Tempo: 68.5 (207)

Average Possession Length: 18.4 (343)

Effective Field Goal%: 44.6 (14)

Offensive Rebound%: 33.9 (289)

Three Point%: 32.7 (139)

Two Point %: 42.3 (4)

Syracuse Personnel

Starters

Bench

Scouting Report

Here’s the deal, this game is impossible to scout.

Donnie Freeman, in theory, is Syracuse’s best player. He played in 4 cupcake games and then went down with a lower leg injury. He’s slated to make his return against Clemson tomorrow, and that changes everything for the Orange. How they played in the previous nine games doesn’t matter and it’s tough to get a read on the team from their first four games. Freeman’s a sophomore, but his freshman campaign isn’t particularly helpful either because the 5* freshman suffered a season ending foot injury 14 games into the season and he’s one of two (JJ Starling) returning players…not starters…players for the Orange this season.

The four game sample size from this season isn’t ideal, but their 78-73 win against Monmouth on November 18th gives the best insight into this Syracuse team. Freeman led the team in scoring with 18, with 12 of those points coming from the free throw line. When he’s on the floor, he’s the focal point of the Syracuse offense. He starts most possessions on the perimeter and is often utilized as the screener in a pick-and-roll.

What makes him particularly hard to guard is his 6’9” frame. All he needs is a half-step on his defender and he’s getting the rim. Syracuse’s pick-and-roll game is difficult to contain because Freeman is a guard in a forward’s body. When teams focus on stuffing the roll, Syracuse will pull the ball out, clear the right side, yell “ISO” and let Freeman back down his defender. Any time Monmouth switched a smaller defender on him to try and contain him off the bounce, it resulted in an immediate clear out and iso. That’s how he ended up shooting 14 free throws. It’s not the most exciting basketball in the world, but it’s deadly effective with the right player. If you’re looking for an NBA comp, he looks like Paul George but plays more like Iso Joe Johnson.

That puts the defense in a bind. Since he starts on the perimeter and backs down smaller defenders, it’s tough to send the double, and when you do send it, he can see over it and find the open man. I’ve only talked about Freeman because he’s making his return tomorrow, but Syracuse had enough to take Houston to overtime before losing 78-74 and beat Tennessee without Freeman in the lineup.

In their win over Tennessee, Nate Kingz led the way with 19 points, and was joined in double digits by William Kyle, JJ Starling, and Sadiq White. In their overtime loss to Houston, six players hit double figures with Tyler Betsey leading the way with 16 points on 4-8 shooting from behind the arc. The Orange don’t lack for options, but when Freeman is available, he’s their best option.

Adding a player as talented as Freeman to your squad is never a bad thing, but my hope is the timing helps Clemson tomorrow. Syracuse has adapted to playing without their star, and now that’s he’s set to return, the offense should be less egalitarian and more Freeman-centric. It might take them a couple games to get back into a flow on offense. They sort of learned how to play without him against the meat of their non-conference schedule and now they have to figure out how to reincorporate a ball dominant wing who isn’t a particularly good perimeter shooter. Things could look a little clunky against the Tigers.

A clunky offense doesn’t necessarily doom the Orange because they can rely on their defense to win games. That’s what happened against the Vols when they pulled out a 62-60 win. Nate Kingz was the leading scorer, but for my money, William Kyle was their best player. He’s an explosive weak side shot blocker who rejected 6 Volunteer offerings at the rim. Syracuse is the second best shot blocking team in the nation according to KenPom, and Kyle’s 11.7% block rate is 18th individually. The Orange do a good job of funneling players towards their shot blockers and keeping teams from converting around the rim. It’s been an effective strategy thus far, as KenPom has them 4th in the nation in 2-point defense.

Even though they make it difficult to score on the inside, the Tigers can’t get baited into taking bad early 3’s. That’s not to say Clemson shouldn’t shoot from the outside. They’re going to have to hit some perimeter shots to win this game, but those shots need to come off dribble penetrations and kick out. The Tiger guards have to be strong with the ball when they get into the lane and make quick decisions. I’d love to see the guards utilize the jump stop mid lane and rely on floaters and kick outs as opposed to taking it all the way to hole and either having their shot erased or turning it over in a sea of Syracuse hands poking at the ball. Layups are tough to come by against this team and sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. I’ve seen an entire compilation of Kyle block highlights while researching this game. Trust me, he can get up, you don’t have to get your shot swatted into the second deck to make sure.

Overall

I’ve got no clue guys. Freeman, again, in theory, changes the way this team plays, and they haven’t played a decent team with him in the lineup. Maybe that’s a good thing for the Tigers or maybe that means he’s going to put up 30 and foul out Clemson’s front line.

On defense, Clemson needs to contain Freeman without fouling and encourage Syracuse to shoot from the perimeter.

On offense they need to hit perimeter shots in the flow of the offense and not get sucked into taking questionable early 3’s out of frustration.

I have no idea if any of that is possible, but it sounds good at least.

Our Sponsor!

Be sure to check out our sponsor, Section 103, which has added a Clemson apparel collection.

They have polos, hats, stickers, and a variety of shirts to choose from. You can grab some new Clemson gear with our promo code for 10% off: STS10

Prediction

KenPom

Clemson – 70

Syracuse – 72

Drew

Clemson – 69

Syracuse – 67

KenPom see’s this game the same way I do. There’s not a compelling reason to pick either team. This game should be close throughout. I’m taking Clemson because I graduated from Clemson and honestly, I hate Jim Boeheim with the heat of 1,000,o00 suns and that’s for life.