Orange Back In Brooklyn For Gotham Classic Against Maryland

Game Details: Saturday, Dec. 21, Brooklyn, N.Y., 12 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (5-5) returns to Brooklyn on Saturday to face Maryland (9-2) in the Gotham Classic at the Barclays Center. It will be the third game for the Orange at Barclays this season and will be televised live on ESPN, with tip-off scheduled for noon.

Setting The Stage
The Orange dropped their 100^th meeting against Georgetown last weekend at the JMA Wireless Dome, 75-71. Eddie Lampkin Jr. scored a team-high 18 points whileJyare Davis and Jaquan Carlos adding 15 points of their own. Elijah Moore also reached double figures with 10 points.

The Terrapins are coming off a 111-57 triumph versus Saint Francis on Tuesday. Five Maryland players scored 10 or more points, led by Shelton Miguel's 24. Maryland has split two early Big Ten Conference games with a 24-point win against Ohio State and a narrow five-point defeat at No. 8 Purdue. The loss to the Boilermakers snapped a five-game winning streak.

Maryland is led by head coach Kevin Willard, who is in his third year at the helm of the program, following successful stints at Iona and Seton Hall. Willard took the Terrapins to the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23 and eclipsed 300 wins as a head coach last season.

The Syracuse-Maryland Series
Maryland leads the head-to-head, 5-4, but the Orange have won the last four meetings between the teams. Their most recent clash came on Nov. 27, 2017, when Syracuse clipped Maryland, 72-70, as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Syracuse's marquees victory against the Terrapins came in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Maryland's last win in the series came in 1980.

Carlos Rising
Jaquan Carlos has turned in the two best scoring performances of his Syracuse tenure in his last two outings. The senior recorded a 12-point, 12-assist double-double against Albany. He backed that up with a season-best 15 points against Georgetown.

Carlos' double-double was the first that included assists since Judah Mintz posted 10 points and 13 assists against Miami on Jan. 20, 2024. His 47 assists this season lead the Orange and rank seventh in the ACC.

After shooting just 11 free throws in the first eight games this season, Carlos has made 15 trips to the line in the last two contests. He converted on 14 of those attempts, which included an 8-for-8 effort against the Hoyas.

Davis Delivering
Davis has been a steady contributor for Syracuse this season off the bench and as a starter. The senior has scored 15 or more points in three straight games, which included a 20-point effort off the bench against Notre Dame. Against Georgetown on Saturday, Davis delivered 15 points in 24 minutes of action.

Davis has reached double-digit points four times off the bench this season. He turned in a double-double in Syracuse's season-opening victory against Le Moyne with 22 points and 12 boards. He has pulled down at least five rebounds on six occasions this season.

Crashing The Glass
As a team, Syracuse averages 38.7 rebounds per contest, the fifth most in the ACC. The Orange have a plus-4.7 rebounding margin on the season and have grabbed double-digit offensive boards six times on the campaign. Against Georgetown on Saturday, Syracuse finished with 10 offensive rebounds.

Back In Brooklyn
Syracuse competed at the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center on Nov. 21-22. The Orange fell to Texas, 70-66, in the semifinals before falling to Texas Tech in the third-place game, 79-74.

Scouting Maryland
The Terrapins, who are receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches polls, have dominated in their nine victories this season with a 34-point average margin of victory in those games. Maryland's 87.8 points per game as a team are tied for the ninth most among Division I programs. The Terrapins defeated Villanova, 76-75, in their only neutral court game so far this season at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Five Maryland players average double-figure scoring, led by Derik Queen's 17.3 per contest. Ja'Kobi Gillespie (13.8), Rodney Rice (12.6), Julian Reese (12.1) and Miguel (11.2) are also averaging double-digits. Gillespie, Rice and Miguel have all knocked down at least 20 triples this season, as the Terrapins are shooting 36-percent from beyond the arc.

Reese and Queen both average over eight boards per contest to lead the Terrapins and are tied for the team lead with 12 blocks. Gillespie's 38 assists and 17 assists are pacing the team.

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.

Freeman is Syracuse's second leading scorer this season with 13.4 points per outing. He poured in a career-best 24 points last week in a victory over Albany and has delivered four double-doubles in the team's first 10 games.

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. Lampkin Jr. is in his first year with the Orange and is averaging 9.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest with two double-doubles.

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).

Orange Back In Brooklyn For Gotham Classic Against Maryland

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Players Mentioned

Jaquan Carlos

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

Judah Mintz

Elijah Moore

Syracuse University Athletics