Freeman had 18 points in the second half but the Orange lost to the Tigers.
The Syracuse University men's basketball team had a chance to tie it late, but ultimately fell 64-61 against Clemson in the first game of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play on Wednesday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Syracuse is now 9-5 on the season while Clemson is 11-3.
Here's what you need to know.
Freeman returns in a big way
After missing nine games because of a right foot injury, Syracuse big man Donnie Freeman was back in the lineup. Though he went scoreless in the first half, he had 18 points in the second half and ended up leading the Orange in scoring. He went 5-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-5 from three-point range, but his three-pointer in the final seconds that would have tied the game was just off. He also had nine rebounds and was 6-of-6 at the foul line.
Inside the box score
--Syracuse entered play with six players who average double-figure scoring for the season, but only Freeman (18) and Naithan George (10) hit those marks on Wednesday. Tyler Betsey had eight while Kiyan Anthony had seven: No starter except for George had more than five. Freeman came off the bench.
--The Tigers got 14 from RJ Godfrey and 10 from Dillon Hunter. Hunter hit two late three's that were backbreakers for SU.
--Syracuse was just 5-of-15 from three while Clemson was just 4-of-16.
--In Freeman's return, Syracuse actually went 20-of-24 at the foul line (83 percent). Clemson was just 6-of-12 (50 percent).
--SU had 15 total turnovers compared to Clemson's 12, but the turnovers were costly and impacted the offensive flow.
--Clemson dominated in the paint, outscoring Syracuse 46-24.
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What else worked well
We said on Tuesday that one of the things we wanted to see from the Orange into 2026 was the development of the young players. Betsey, Anthony and Sadiq White combined for 17 points, and while that number could be higher, Betsey and Anthony showed solid effectiveness in their minutes. None of the three played more than 16 and still contributed.
And, the free-throw shooting should be commended. Syracuse entered play as the worst FT shooting team in the nation, so to go 20-of-24 is big time improvement.
Need for improvement
The Orange need more from their upperclassmen. This team can't defer to Freeman or wait for him to take over. Nate Kingz (five), JJ Starling (four) and William Kyle III (four) have to provide more offense, especially Starling, who led the way with nearly 18 ppg last season.
What's next?
The Orange are back in action on Jan. 6 at Georgia Tech. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. ET.
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