ACC TEAM PREVIEW #17 SYRACUSE ORANGE

Syracuse took a step back in year two of the Adrian Autry era. After finishing with 20 wins in his first season, they won only 13 games last year. That was good enough for a 14th-place ACC finish. Syracuse is currently in the midst of a four-year NCAA tournament drought, which is the longest they've gone without an NCAA tournament appearance since 1972.

Projected Lineup:

G Naithan George (Georgia Tech transfer)

G JJ Starling

G Nate Kingz (Oregon State transfer)

F Sadiq White Jr

F Donnie Freeman

Syracuse seems like one of the only teams in the ACC that gets both of their best players back from last season. JJ Starling led the team in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game last season while earning all-conference honors. He should be one of the top guards in the conference again this season. Donnie Freeman is also back for Syracuse. He was a five-star recruit and the #15 overall player in the 2024 class by 247 Sports. Freeman only played in 14 games last season due to injury, but he put up good numbers when healthy, averaging 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds. Freeman likely goes in the first round of next year's NBA draft if he can put it all together this season.

Adrian Autry brought in a total of 6 transfers through the portal this offseason. The class is headlined by Georgia Tech transfer Naithan George. He was one of the best point guards in the conference last season, and he now stays within the ACC by transferring to Syracuse. George averaged 12.3 points per game and 6.5 assists per game, which was best in the conference. Another veteran guard they bought in through the portal is Oregon State transfer Nate Kingz. He averaged 11.8 points per game last season and shot an impressive 44.6% from three. 6-foot-9 UCLA transfer William Kyle and 6-foot-8 Cincinnati transfer Tyler Betsey should also play a big role off the bench for Syracuse next season.

Syracuse also has a solid incoming freshman class next season. 6-foot-8 forward Sadiq White Jr is the #26 player in the class, and 6-foot-5 shooting guard Kiyan Anthony is the #32 player in the class. Both of them should be immediate contributors next season.

I think this year's Syracuse team is a lot better than last season's. Their trio of JJ Starling, Donnie Freeman, and Naithan George should be tough to stop. They've also got lots of good complimentary pieces.

Prediction: 7th in ACC