Syracuse Goes For Third Straight ACC Win Versus Louisville

Game Details: Tuesday, Jan. 14, Syracuse, N.Y., 7 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Live Coverage: Stats
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Winners of two straight conference games, Syracuse (8-8, 2-3 ACC) seeks to extend its streak Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome against Louisville (12-5, 5-1 ACC). The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. and will air live on ACC Network.

Setting The Stage
Syracuse won a pair of ACC contests last week, its first two conference triumphs of the campaign. The Orange knocked off Georgia Tech on Tuesday, 62-55, before coming from behind late Saturday to take down Boston College, 79-71, for their first road victory this season. J.J. Starling scored 21 against the Yellow Jackets and 26 versus the Eagles to pace the Orange with Eddie Lampkin Jr. posting a double-double in both encounters.

At 5-1 in the ACC, the Cardinals are currently tied for second place in the conference with Clemson. Since dropping its ACC opener to Duke, Louisville has won five straight ACC games and enters Tuesday's clash riding a six-game winning streak overall. Last week, the Cardinals secured impressive road victories over Clemson, 74-64, and Pittsburgh, 82-78.

The Cardinals are in their first season under head coach Pat Kelsey, who was hired in March 2024 following successful stints at College of Charleston and Winthrop. Last season, Kelsey guided the Cougars to a 27-8 mark, the Coastal Athletic Association regular season and tournament titles and a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Syracuse-Louisville Series
Louisville leads the head-to-head between the teams, 19-14. However, the Orange have won their last four meetings and hold an 8-4 mark in games contested at the Dome.

Last season, Syracuse went 2-0 against Louisville. Chris Bell knocked down eight 3-pointers to help the Orange fend off the Cardinals, 94-92, at the Dome and scored 23 points in an 82-76 victory at the KFC Yum! Center.

Back-To-Back
The Orange enter Tuesday on a two-game ACC winning streak following victories over Georgia Tech and Boston College.

Syracuse held the Yellow Jackets to just 55 points and a 36-percent mark from the field. Starling and Lampkin Jr. took over late, combining for 23 of the Orange's 37 second-half points. Syracuse also doubled up Georgia Tech in rebounds during the second half (26-13) and grabbed 11 offensive boards after intermission.

The Orange then rallied late to overcome Boston College in the final nine minutes at Conte Forum. Trailing 54-46 with 8:51 left in the contest, the Orange finished the game on a 33-17 scoring stretch to complete a comeback effort. Starling and Kyle Cuffe Jr. contributed 10 points apiece during the closing run. The Orange held the lead for the final 4:51 of gametime after not leading at all in the second half up to that point. Five Orange players scored in double figures – Starling (26), Lucas Taylor (15), Jyare Davis (12) Lampkin Jr. (10) and Cuffe Jr. (10).

Welcome Back, J.J.
Starling has picked up where he left off since returning from his injury, as Syracuse's leading scorer has recorded double figures in each of the last three contests. He has hit double-digit points in all nine of his appearances on the season.

In Syracuse's win at Boston College on Saturday, Starling paced the Orange with 26 points, 20 of which came after intermission. Starling went 12-of-22 from the field for the game and 9-of-14 in the second half. Against Georgia Tech last week, Starling scored 21 points on an efficient 9-of-16 effort from the field.

Starling is averaging 19.8 points per outing on the campaign. His 38 points from the Orange's double-overtime victory against Youngstown State are still the most by any ACC player in a game this season.

Clutch Cuffe
Cuffe Jr. provided a late boost in Syracuse's comeback bid at Boston College. The guard scored all 10 of his points in the final 8:33 of regulation, which included the team's first and only two triples of the second half.

Over the last five games, Cuffe Jr. is averaging 8.8 points, scoring double figures in three of those outings. He has played double-digit minutes in three of the team's last four ACC contests.

Lampkin Delivering
Lampkin Jr. is coming off his fifth double-double of the campaign, a 10-point, 13-rebound effort in the win at Boston College. The 13 boards matched his season high and were just one short of his career best.

The center has amassed double-digit rebounds in five of the last six games and is averaging four offensive boards per contest in that stretch. He also posted a double-double in Syracuse's victory over Georgia Tech with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Lampkin Jr. also tied Starling for a team-high three assists against the Eagles. His 39 assists on the season trail only Jaquan Carlos on the Orange.

Taylor Time
Taylor has sparked Syracuse's offense in recent games, most notably from beyond the arc. The junior guard has gone 14-of-28 (50-percent) from deep over the last six contests with multiple makes in each of those games.

Taylor has hit double figures in four consecutive outings, highlighted by a 15-point effort in the win at Boston College and a season-best 16 points against Wake Forest. He also notched 10 points in Syracuse's first ACC victory of the campaign against Georgia Tech.

Davis Doing It All
Davis made his fifth start of the season against Boston College in place of the injured Donnie Freeman. He delivered another stellar all-around performance with 12 points and eight boards.

He has eight games this season with at least five points and five rebounds, which he has accomplished in each of the Orange's last two ACC victories over Georgia Tech and Boston College. The forward is third on the team for season in rebounding with 5.5 per game and is shooting 53-percent from the field while averaging 8.6 points.

Crashing The Glass
As a team, Syracuse grabs 38.9 rebounds per contest, the third most in the ACC. The Orange boast a plus-4.4 margin on the season and have recorded double-digit offensive boards 10 times on the campaign, including in five of the last seven contests.

Three different Syracuse players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season – Freeman (seven times), Lampkin Jr. (seven times) and Davis (one time). Lampkin has double-digit boards in five of the last six outings, while Freeman has hit double figures in two of his last three appearances.

Scouting Louisville
Five Louisville players are averaging double-digit points this season, led by Chucky Hepburn's 15.1 per outing. College of Charleston transfer Reyne Smith scores 13.5 per contest is the conference's top 3-point shooter with 61 makes, 13 more than the next highest tally.

J'Vonne Hadley (7.7) is Louisville's top rebounder and ranks No. 8 in the ACC in the category. Hepburn leads the ACC in steals with 45 and is pacing the Cardinals with 96 assists on the season.

As a team, the Cardinals rank No. 5 in the ACC in scoring offense with 77.8 points per contest, No. 2 in made 3-pointers with 160 and No. 4 in rebounding with 38.6 boards per game. Louisville averages the second most offensive rebounds in the ACC with 12.9.

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, who has missed the last two games due to injury, has registered six double-doubles on the campaign and is averaging 15.3 points over his last nine appearances. He has scored 15 or more in six games over that stretch.

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 7.9 rebounds per contest with five 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).

Syracuse Goes For Third Straight ACC Win Versus Louisville

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Players Mentioned

Chris Bell

Jaquan Carlos

Kyle Cuffe Jr.

Donnie Freeman

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

J.J. Starling

Lucas Taylor

Syracuse University Athletics