Syracuse men’s basketball (9-9, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) faces its biggest road test of conference play on Wednesday in the form of Clemson (15-4, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The Orange are coming off a 77-69 victory over Notre Dame in the Dome on Saturday.
The deficit was as many as 17 for @Cuse_MBB, but 16 second half points from J.J. Starling pushed SU past @NDmbb 77-69.@JLeonard1013 and @AndrewSelover had the call from the JMA Wireless Dome. pic.twitter.com/JlWjcars7u
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) January 18, 2025
SU trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, before guard JJ Starling dropped 16 second-half scores guiding Syracuse to victory. For head coach Adrian Autry, the guard’s dominant second-stanza play was the difference following a five-point first half.
“Once we got it to halftime before we went he said, ‘We got this.’ He knew what he had to do. JJ is our leader. He’s starting to really understand that and see that. We have to have him aggressive no matter what. Sometimes his shots are going to be forced. We need him to take those shots.”
Headed into the contest, Starling dropped a mere four points against 25th-ranked Louisville. Before that, the guard had back-to-back 20+ point games, prompting Starling to make a change headed into Saturday.
“I was not myself on Tuesday. I feel like everybody knows that,” Starling said. “I know that. I made sure to work diligently this week watching film and picking up different reads.”
The junior would finish the game with a team-leading 21 points. While things were flowing offensively for Starling and company on Saturday, things could change come Wednesday at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson is red-hot, winners of six of its last seven games. The Tigers currently rank second in the ACC, with their only conference defeat coming to Louisville a couple of weeks ago.
In its most recent game, Clemson narrowly took down Pittsburgh 78-75 in overtime. The Tigers survived thanks to guard Chase Hunter, who knocked down five triples including a three-point dagger with 14 seconds left in the extra frame. Hunter is a name that SU has to watch on Wednesday night.
The guard leads the ACC in three-point percentage with a 45% clip from beyond the arc per game. Nevertheless, Hunter is more than a three-point shooter. The Georgia native leads the squad in scoring averaging just around 17 points a contest.
It’s not just Hunter that hurts teams from downtown for the Tigers though. Clemson as a team shoots the trey at a nearly 40% clip, which leads the conference. SU limits teams to just around 33% shooting from beyond the arc a game, which ranks 12th in the ACC.
The Orange haven’t taken down the Tigers in three-straight tries. On top of that, Syracuse hasn’t beaten the Tigers in Clemson since the 2016-17 season.
Find out if the Orange can break both those streaks tomorrow. Gametime is set for 7, with WAER's coverage starting at 6:30 with McClurg Remolding Countdown to Tipoff.