Syracuse men's basketball (4-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has a quick turnaround for its second contest at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. SU battles Kansas (4-2, 0-0 Big 12) at 3:30 ET for its second tip-off in the past 22 hours.
The Orange will need a quick reset after falling last night to No. 3 Houston, 78-74 in overtime. While it was a pleasant surprise for Syracuse to play last year’s national runners-up in such a tightly contested finish, it was a game that was ultimately winnable down the stretch.
The ‘Cuse got double-digit outputs from six different players yesterday, something that will need to translate for another effort against a highly touted foe.
However, there’s a substantial part of yesterday’s game the Orange hope to leave behind. Syracuse missed 17 of 29 free throw attempts, marking its most misses from the charity stripe in a game since 2011.
“You’re gonna see our level five fight. It doesn’t change, that’s the consistency part. We are gonna play together and energize each other and keep rooting for each other,” head coach Adrian Autry said.
SU’s next opponent is an esteemed one in the history books for Orange fans. It will be hard to replicate the stardom of that fateful day in 2003, but the young talent on both rosters is visible.
Orange freshman Kiyan Anthony has definitely cooled down after a blazing start, but he’s still netting 14.8 points and three rebounds through five games.
KIYAN ANTHONY DOING IT ALL 🔒😤 @Cuse_MBB pic.twitter.com/nucwl8a6QE
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 24, 2025
Down low, freshman Sadiq White picked up his first career start yesterday and showed some flashes in 19 minutes of game action.
On the other side, perennial powerhouse Kansas has looked wishy-washy up to this point. Both of the Jayhawks’ losses have come via double-digits to other blue blood programs, first on the road versus UNC, followed by a neutral-site loss to Duke in the Champions’ Classic.
The young talent starts down low for Kansas. Manning the paint is Floray Bidunga, a 6-10 shot blocker who has shown immense promise as an inside scorer this season. The Congo native registered 18 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks in Kansas’ 71-61 over Notre Dame yesterday.
Some big games from the big guys 💪
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) November 25, 2025
Vote for the @meritrustcu Exceptional Player of the Game in the comments below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eavH6JjeZi
The other forward is freshman Bryson Tiller, a four-star prospect from Atlanta. He’s at just under nine points per game this season, but has seen his minutes climb in five straight outings, and the production has followed; that includes a 17-point effort yesterday.
The backcourt has been equally impressive so far. Seniors Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. are newcomers in Lawrence, but both are far from inexperienced. White spent time at USC, Louisville, and Illinois, where he averaged 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds. Council Jr. was an all-conference player at Wagner and St. Bonaventure’s, where he posted 14.7 points and 3.8 assists.
But perhaps the biggest notable in the bout between college basketball heavyweights is the absence of both programs’ top scorers.
In a surprising announcement yesterday afternoon, Syracuse announced forward Donnie Freeman would miss the entire Players Era Festival, with what was labelled a lower body injury.
“This is a next-man up team, this is a team that was put together to pick each other up, this team was built that way,” said Autry last night, while stressing “it’s not about one guy.”
SU did show it can hang with any team yesterday, but its record without Freeman sank to 8-12, against a 10-8 mark with the sophomore.
For KU, freshman phenom Darryn Peterson remains sidelined with a hamstring ailment. 247Sports’ No. 1 recruit in 2025 was terrific in his two games this year – 21.5 points on 60% shooting, including 50% from downtown.
Coach Red knows he will need an army to take down one of the better programs in college basketball tomorrow, as he refuses to dwell on past mistakes.
“I’m disappointed about the loss tonight, but we’ll be ready tomorrow,” said Autry.
And The Original Home of the Orange will also be ready. WAER has you covered for the entirety of the Players Era Festival, continuing its coverage on 88.3 FM or waer.org Tuesday at 3:30. Don’t miss McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 3.