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Adrian Autry’s pivotal third season at the helm has unfolded as smoothly as possible. Syracuse began its 2025-26 campaign by crushing Binghamton by 38, then demolishing Delaware State by 40. Its defense is playing lights out. Its offense is performing uber-efficiently, led by forward Donnie Freeman’s 20.0 points per game and 93rd-percentile scoring volume rate, per EvanMiya.

Through two games, it’s safe to say Autry’s latest SU squad is likely his best so far.

To improve to 3-0, the Orange must go through Drexel this Saturday in a neutral-site game at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Coastal Athletic Association foe is coming off a 90-83 loss to Colgate on Tuesday. However, the Dragons will undoubtedly face a tougher central New York school this weekend.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (2-0, Atlantic Coast) will fare against Drexel (1-2, CAA) Saturday in Philadelphia:

Aiden Stepansky (2-0)
Philly, Philly
Syracuse 80, Drexel 59

I’m coming home again. Covering a game in my hometown adds some excitement to this one. But more importantly, this will be Syracuse’s best test yet before an upcoming pivotal four-game stretch.

With the way the Orange are playing, they remain on upset alert as the top team on their opponents’ schedules. The Dragons recently fell to Saint Joseph’s, and Syracuse is currently their only opponent inside KenPom’s top 100 teams. SU has impressed through its first two games by holding both opponents to under 50 points. Drexel will put up a bit more of a threat than Binghamton and Delaware State, but this should be another cake walk for Autry and Co.

Where Syracuse will differentiate itself again is on defense. Autry has built the defense into this team’s identity, and a KenPom-best 27.3% effective field goal percentage against only further reflects it. The Dragons have also shown some strong defense through their first few games, but offensively, they’ve been near the bottom of Division I with a 40.3 2-point percentage.

Playing in an arena outside of the JMA Wireless Dome could spur a slow start, but the Orange’s talent will quickly outweigh Drexel’s. As Nick Foles said to Doug Pederson, “You want Philly, Philly?” Of the four teams in Philadelphia this weekend, SU will stand tall above the rest, further cementing its revival.

Cooper Andrews (2-0)
A convincing 3-0 start
Syracuse 84, Drexel 61

Autry’s boys might be decent this year, huh? A plus-78 point differential after bludgeoning Binghamton and Delaware State has me feeling bullish about the Orange as they inch closer and closer to the Player’s Era Tournament during Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas, where No. 1 Houston and No. 25 Kansas await.

Last year, Syracuse got pummelled against quality nonconference opponents. SU’s sluggish start, ridden with awful defense, saw it play three cupcake teams (Le Moyne, Colgate and Youngstown State) and barely escape with a win in all three.

But this year is different. The Orange are more than good enough to take care of business against teams they should beat. They’ll handle Drexel with relative ease Saturday in Philadelphia, giving them an actually convincing 3-0 start before a tough stretch of nonconference games from late November through early December.

As my fellow scribe Aiden aptly pointed out, SU’s vaunted defense versus the Dragons’ shaky offense is a mismatch the Orange will take full advantage of. But let’s focus on the offense. Who would’ve thought Kiyan Anthony would be dropping 17.0 points per game already? He looks every bit like the three-level scorer he was hyped up to be, and that makes Syracuse even more dangerous when you pair him with a highly efficient Freeman (68.4% field goal percentage) in the post and a soon-to-be returning J.J. Starling.

I envision Syracuse shooting the lights out against Drexel, led by what should be another 15-plus point night for Anthony and a probable double-double for Freeman. The Dragons can’t contend with the Orange, who look as good as they’ve ever looked under Autry.

Justin Girshon (2-0)
Ring the Bell
Syracuse 81, Drexel 68

A lot has changed since the Orange last played a men’s basketball game in Philadelphia. That was 11 years ago, when Jim Boeheim was still their head coach, Rakeem Christmas was a senior and Syracuse had made the previous six NCAA Tournaments.

Now, SU’s head coach is Autry, its center is an undersized yet hyper-athletic William Kyle and it has missed the previous four NCAA Tournaments. In a pivotal year for Autry, his squad — as my fellow scribes have detailed above — looks more like what Syracuse basketball should be by blowing out lesser teams.
Even if Starling is held out on Saturday, the Orange should have another no-sweat double-digit win over Drexel to move to 3-0. However, I do think the Dragons will keep this one closer than Aiden and Cooper think.

It’s not because Drexel is some great team — it isn’t: it’s ranked No. 206 by EvanMiya and No. 248 by KenPom — but I think playing on a neutral site against slightly better competition than what they’ve faced thus far will keep this one closer to 10 points than 20.

Nonetheless, Freeman, Kyle, Anthony and Naithan George will likely be four of the best players on the floor, and SU’s talent will significantly trump the Dragons’ down the stretch. If Nate Kingz can start heating up from beyond the arc, this could be closer to a 25-point Syracuse win. However, Kingz nor SU as a team has shown they can light it up from 3-point range, so I’ll stick with a 13-point win.

Published on November 12, 2025 at 9:02 pm