Orange Conclude Opening Homestand Saturday

Game Details: Saturday, Nov. 16, Syracuse, N.Y., 1 p.m.
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Coming off a pair of victories against in-state foes, Syracuse (2-0) wraps up its opening three-game homestand Saturday against Youngstown State (1-1) at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Setting The Stage
The Orange held on to defeat Colgate, 74-72, on Tuesday in the 176^th meeting between the two teams. An Eddie Lampkin Jr. layup in the final minute proved to be the winning basket for Syracuse.

Youngstown State is 1-1 this season, with both games coming on the road. In their most recent contest, the Penguins were topped by Ohio State, 81-47. Youngstown State was predicted to finish sixth in the Horizon League preseason poll and received one first-place vote.

The Penguins are guided by sixth-year head coach Ethan Faulkner, who has engineered five straight winning seasons to begin his tenure with the program.

The Syracuse-Youngstown State Series
Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the Orange and Penguins.

Double Trouble
Three different Syracuse players have tallied double-doubles in the team's opening two games. Jyare Davis and Donnie Freeman both posted one against Le Moyne, with Lampkin Jr. delivering his own against Colgate.

Davis, the Delaware transfer, led the team in both points (22) and rebounds (12) against the Dolphins. He went 7-of-9 from the field and added eight free throws while adding a team-best five offensive rebounds. Freeman's double-double consisted of 10 points and 11 boards. Eight of Freeman's points came in the first half, which included his first career 3-pointer.

Against Colgate, Lampkin Jr. paced the Orange with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He went 7-of-14 from the field, which included the first 3-pointer of his career. The graduate student also dished out three assists.

Balanced Scoring
Four Orange players are averaging double figures through the first two games. Chris Bell's 17.0 points per game lead the team and are tied for No. 12 in the ACC. Davis is close behind with 15.0 points per game.

J.J. Starling is averaging 13.0 points per contest and has reached double-digits in both of Syracuse's games this season. Lampkin Jr. ranks No. 4 on the team with 12.5 points per game. All four of Syracuse's top scorers are shooting at least 50-percent from the field on the season.

Controlling The Glass
Syracuse has owned the glass in its first two games this season. The Orange outrebounded Le Moyne by 14 in the season opener before pulling down nine more boards than Colgate on Tuesday. The Orange have been especially prolific grabbing offensive rebounds, as they average 15.5 per outing.

Davis is grabbing 10.5 boards per game to pace Syracuse, with Freeman (8.0) and Lampkin Jr. (7.5) also above five per contest.

Freeman, Lampkin Jr. Make Preseason Watch Lists
Freeman is one of 20 players to make the preseason watch list for the 2025 Karl Malone Award, which recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men's basketball. Freeman, a McDonald's All-American and the second-highest Syracuse recruit in program history, is one of two freshmen to make this year's Malone Award watch list.

Lampkin Jr. is one of 20 preseason watch-list candidates for the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes to the top center in men's college basketball. Following productive seasons at TCU and Colorado, Lampkin Jr. is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his first campaign at Syracuse.

The list for both awards will be narrowed to 10 in late January, and then to just five in late February. In March, the five finalists for both awards will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar, Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where winners will be selected.

Orange fans are encouraged to participate in three rounds of Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, on hoophallawards.com.

Tickets
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on X (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Chris Bell

Donnie Freeman

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

J.J. Starling

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