Orange Seek West-Coast Win At California

Game Details: Saturday, Feb. 1, Berkeley, Calif., 10 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (9-12, 3-7 ACC) concludes its two-game west coast trip Saturday with a matchup against California (11-10, 4-6 ACC). The contest at Haas Pavilion will tip-off at 10 p.m. and will air live on ESPN2.

Setting The Stage
The Orange are coming off a nine-point loss at Stanford, 70-61, in their first ever trip to Maples Pavilion on Wednesday night. Jaquan Carlos matched his season high of 16 points to pace the Orange, with Eddie Lampkin Jr. not far behind with 12 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds.

This is California's first season competing as an ACC member and the Golden Bears enter Saturday's game looking to get back in the win column after suffering a 76-65 defeat at SMU on Wednesday. Before the loss at SMU, the Bears were on a three-game winning streak against NC State, Florida State and Miami.

Cal is led Mark Madsen, a two-time NBA champion as a player, who began the position as head coach last season. Prior to his time with the Golden Bears, Madsen had a successful four-year stint at the helm of Utah Valley, guiding them to 28 wins and the semifinals of the NIT in his final season there.

The Syracuse-California Series
The Orange have won three of their four meetings with the Golden Bears, with the most recent game between the teams taking place at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 20, 2014, as part of the 2K Sports Classic. Cal won that encounter, 73-59, for their only win to date against Syracuse. The other three meetings came between 2009-13, including a game in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament that the Orange won, 66-60.

All four of the previous matchups between Syracuse and California have come in tournaments. Two meetings between the teams at the 2K Sports Classic (2009, 2014) book ended clashes at the 2013 NCAA Tournament and 2013 Maui Invitational.

Lampkin Climbs The Ladder
Against Pittsburgh on Jan. 25, Lampkin Jr. became the first Syracuse player to tally 23 rebounds in a game since Derrick Coleman did so against Villanova on March 10, 1990, at the Big East Tournament. Only two Syracuse players have grabbed more rebounds in a single game than Lampkin Jr. – Frank Reddout with 34 versus Temple on Feb. 9, 1952, and Dave Bing with 25 against Cornell on Feb. 8, 1966.

Lampkin's 23-rebound performance is one of the top 10 efforts on the glass in Syracuse history. Additionally, his 15 defensive rebounds versus the Panthers were the sixth most in a single game in Orange history, with the all-time Syracuse record sitting at 16. The 23 rebounds were also the most by any ACC player in a game since Armando Bacot also had 23 for North Carolina against James Madison on Nov. 20, 2022.

Lampkin Jr. is averaging 11 rebounds over the past 11 contests and has posted a double-double in five of the last seven outings. This season Lampkin Jr. is averaging 10.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

Welcome Back, J.J.
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 six of his eight appearances since rejoining the lineup. He is averaging 16.5 points per contest over that span.

Starling has reached 20 points in four of his eight of the last eight contests and has hit that mark six times on the season. He has knocked down three or more 3-pointers in three of the last four outings.

Starling is averaging a team-best 17.9 points per outing on the campaign. His 38 points from the Orange's double-overtime victory against Youngstown State were a career high and the second most by any ACC player in a game this season.

Reserve Contributions
Syracuse's bench continued to provide a boost for the Orange on Wednesday, as the team's reserves outscored Stanford's, 32-16. The Syracuse bench has now outscored its opponent's reserves in 16 consecutive contests.

Carlos sparked the reserve effort against the Cardinal, notching 16 points on a 6-of-6 night from the field. He also knocked down a pair of triples, his first time making multiple shots from beyond-the-arc on the campaign. Chris Bell and Kyle Cuffe Jr. both added six points off the bench at Stanford.

Over the last five games, Syracuse's bench is averaging 27.2 points. The best scoring effort from the Orange bench over the last five games came against Louisville, with Syracuse getting 36 points from its bench unit. Half of those points came from Bell, who knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to an 18-point effort.

Crashing The Glass
As a team, Syracuse grabs 37.6 rebounds per contest, the fifth most in the ACC. The Orange boast a plus-3.2 margin on the season and have recorded double-digit offensive boards 12 times on the campaign.

Syracuse was plus-17 on the glass against Pittsburgh last weekend, winning the rebounding battle, 48-31. The rebounding margin was the largest of the season for the Orange. In addition to Lampkin's career-best 23 boards, Lucas Taylor delivered a season high with seven rebounds.

Three different Syracuse players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season – Lampkin Jr. (10 times), Freeman (seven times) and Davis (one time). Lampkin is third in the conference in rebounding (8.9 per game) and has double-digit boards in eight of the last 11 outings, while Freeman has hit double figures in two of his last three appearances.

Scouting California
Andrej Stojakovic is the ACC's third leading scorer this season entering Saturday, as the guard averages 18.9 points per contest. He has two games this season with 30-plus points, as he reached 31 against Northwestern State and 30 versus Clemson. He has missed the last three games due to injury. Three more Cal players average in double figures – Jeremiah Wilkinson (13.1), BJ Omot (10.8), who is out for the season due to injury, and Jovan Blacksher Jr. (10.4).

Mady Sissoko leads the Golden Bears in rebounding with 7.4 per contest and is top 10 in the ACC in blocked shots, averaging 1.2 per game. Blacksher Jr. has a team-high 46 assists while Rytis Petraitis is pacing California with 26 steals.

As a team, Cal ranks No. 6 in the ACC in rebounding (37.1 per game), No. 9 in scoring (75.7 points per game) and No. 8 in free throw percentage (74.8 percent).

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 past seven 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 has a team-best eight 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).

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Players Mentioned

Chris Bell

Jaquan Carlos

Kyle Cuffe Jr.

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

J.J. Starling

Lucas Taylor

Syracuse University Athletics