In four games since Donnie Freeman’s return from an ankle injury, Syracuse Men’s Basketball has leaned heavily on its star forward. When the Orange head to Boston College to take on the Eagles tomorrow afternoon, they’ll likely continue to ride his hot hand.
Freeman was firing on all cylinders to open the season, leading the ‘Cuse to a perfect 4-0 start while averaging just over 17 points and 5 rebounds per game. But his month-long absence made a strong impact. SU managed just 5 wins over its next 9 games, and tournament hopes seemed to fade with each passing loss. Now, however, momentum is swinging back in Syracuse’s direction after a strong start to conference play.
Despite a narrow loss to Clemson at home on New Year’s Eve, the Orange have won three straight, and could make it four tomorrow in Boston. In that time, Freeman has posted a staggering 25 points per game with his lowest scoring performance over the win streak being 22 against Pitt. He’s also been a large contributor on the glass, leading SU with 31 boards in conference play.
The writing is on the wall: the Orange are a near-perfect 7-1 with Donnie Freeman on the floor. He’s their best player, and he’s played like it. That certainly changes the outlook on the season for a Syracuse team that would be 13-5 overall with a 4-1 ACC record with a win versus Boston College tomorrow.
But the road ahead won’t get easier. Syracuse’s schedule really picks up late in the season with key Quad I and II conference games against Virginia Tech, Miami, NC State, Notre Dame, Virginia, Cal, SMU, Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest, and North Carolina.
Without Freeman this season, the Orange went 1-3 in their Quad I matchups so far. All three losses came from the Player’s Era Tournament in Las Vegas, where their intensity sputtered after narrowly falling to then No. 2 Houston in overtime in game one. It wouldn’t be crazy to say things may have gone differently over Thanksgiving break with Freeman, and that provides hope for Syracuse’s chances against such a level of teams going forward.
