Game Details: Wednesday, February 11, Syracuse, N.Y., 7:00 p.m.
Live Stream: ESPNU
Live Coverage: Stats
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After spending last week against back-to-back, Top 20 teams on the road, Syracuse (13-11, 4-7 ACC) has returned home in the JMA Wireless Dome on Wednesday to take on California (17-7,5-6, ACC).
 
Offensive Contributions

The Orange received contributions from several players during last week’s road swing. Sophomore Donnie Freeman led Syracuse in scoring for the 10th time this season against North Carolina, pouring in 23 points and grabbing eight boards. Freeman paces the Orange with a 17.7 scoring average and ranks eighth in the conference during league play at 17.6 points per game.

Junior Naithan George was near-perfect against Virginia, shooting 8-of-9 (.889) from the field for a team-best 19 points after posting 15 earlier in the week against the Tar Heels. George has dished out a team-high 129 assists this season, including 65 in ACC play.

Senior J.J. Starling was instrumental against the Cavaliers as well, scoring 10 first-half points on five made baskets to help Syracuse shrink the deficit heading into the break. Over his last nine games, Starling is shooting .478 (55-of-115) and has reached double figures in eight of those performances.

 

Kyle III’s Block Party
The Orange rank as one of the nation’s top shot-blocking teams, tied for third nationally at 6.1 blocks per game.
 
Leading the charge is senior William Kyle III, a candidate for the 2025-26 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. Kyle III has swatted away 65 shots this season, tied for second in Division I and the most of any ACC player. He’s recorded at least one block in all but two games this year and posted new career-highs with six rejections against both Delaware State and Tennessee. He recorded four last weekend against Virginia.
 
Scouting California
California comes to Syracuse with a 17-7 overall record and 5-6 in ACC play, looking to bounce back from a 22-point loss to #20 Clemson. The Golden Bears have collected a few marquee wins this season, including a non-conference victory over UCLA and ACC wins against North Carolina, Stanford and Miami.
 
The Golden Bears excel on the perimeter, shooting .373 from 3-point range while connecting on nine triples per game. That efficiency extends to the defensive end, where California holds opponents to just .306 from beyond the arc, the fifth-best mark in the ACC.
 
When California gets to the free-throw line, opposing teams pay the price. The Golden Bears lead the ACC at .785 from the charity stripe and knocked down a season-high 28 free throws in their recent win over Georgia Tech.
 
Dai Dai Ames leads the Golden Bears, having started all 24 contests with a scoring average of 17.0. The 6-foot-2 guard has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, including six in a row. He scored a season-high 29 points last week against Georgia Tech. Ames has experience playing in the ACC after starting 26 games for Virginia last season.
 
Justin Pippen is another key contributor on offense, having scored at least 10 points in each ACC game this season. Over his last six games, he has posted a 17.5 scoring average, including 19 points in the win over North Carolina. His .816 free throw percentage is also a top-10 mark in the ACC.
 
California boasts one of the most lethal 3-point shooters in the league in John Camden. The 6-foot-8 graduate student has connected on 63-of-150 (.420) shots from beyond the arc, the second-highest percentage in the ACC. He has knocked down 14-of-25 (.560) 3-point attempts in his last five games.
 
California is led by Mark Madsen, who is in his third season at the helm of the Golden Bears. Madsen guided California to a 12-1 non-conference record, the program’s best start since 1959-60, and has already surpassed his previous single-season win total with the Golden Bears sitting in the middle of the ACC standings.
 
Before coaching, Madsen played at Stanford and went on to win two NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
 
Series History
The Orange and Golden Bears have clashed five times before, with Syracuse having won four of those contests. Syracuse won last year’s matchup in Berkeley, 75-66, with Starling posting 18 points and dishing out four assists.

Syracuse Tickets

Season and individual tickets are available at cuse.com/feature/basketball-tickets