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Nine days after Syracuse fans stormed the JMA Wireless Dome court, the Orange will host Saint Joseph’s Thursday, beginning a four-game stretch to end nonconference play.

Adrian Autry is coming off arguably his biggest win as a head coach when SU downed then-No. 13 Tennessee 62-60 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. It served as the Orange’s first Quad 1 victory of the season after losing three straight at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. However, the win’s impact was dampened following the new NET rankings update, which now considers the Volunteers a Quad 2 opponent.

Syracuse will have some high-leverage games once Atlantic Coast Conference play begins on Dec. 31 against Clemson. For now, the Orange shift their focus to an Atlantic 10 Conference foe in the Hawks, who are fresh off a 87-65 win over Coppin State.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (5-3, ACC) will fare against Saint Joseph’s (6-3, Atlantic 10):

Aiden Stepansky (6-2)
Start of the streak
Syracuse 75, Saint Joseph’s 59

Fun fact: Syracuse has already surpassed its longest winning streak from last season. The Orange mounted a three-game winning streak to begin the 2024-25 season, and that was their longest all year. SU sprang out with a four-game winning streak this year, before falling in three straight.

The way the Orange’s schedule is set up, they’ll likely ignite at least a six-game winning streak through December. Though the beginning of SU’s ACC schedule also looks favorable right now, and if it were to upset Clemson, Syracuse could ride an 11-game winning streak before taking on Virginia Tech on Jan. 21. The streak would be its longest since the 2013-14 season.

All of this is to say everything the Orange desire under Autry is right in front of them. Picking up a win over Tennessee was massive for SU’s NET rankings and also proved Syracuse can hang with the country’s top teams. Saint Joseph’s has shown flashes of strong play under Steve Donahue, though its 35-point loss to Virginia Tech proved the Orange should take care of business.

Syracuse will take control of this one and pull away. It now has a winning formula that’s been battle-tested rigorously, and the next few weeks are all about fine-tuning its skills before Clemson.

Cooper Andrews (6-2)
Cruisin’ ‘til New Year’s Eve
Syracuse 77, Saint Joseph’s 54

If the Orange lose any of their next four games, you can probably kiss their March Madness hopes goodbye. They’d be wise to rest Donnie Freeman, who’s been out since Nov. 18 with a lower-body injury, until ACC play commences. The roster that just shocked Tennessee can certainly handle itself against Saint Joseph’s, Hofstra, Mercyhurst, Stonehill and Northeastern.

The road starts against the Hawks, who the Orange will probably start a tad slow against after a nine-day layoff from their previous game, then obliterate in the second half. This is the game where J.J. Starling finally develops a rhythm from wire-to-wire. I think he’ll build off his clutch performance against the Volunteers and score close to 20 against Saint Joseph’s.

At the same time, I don’t see how the Hawks’ offense will do much of anything versus a vaunted SU defense. Saint Joseph’s is the 4th-worst 3-point shooting team in the country at 26.2% and it will need a whole lot of 3-balls to stun Syracuse on its home floor.

Give me the Orange by more than 20 points in this one, the start of what should be a dominant stretch where they leave no doubts before ACC play.

Justin Girshon (6-2)
Dancing in a winter wonderland
Syracuse 80, Saint Joseph’s 62

The weather in Syracuse is getting to the point where it’s about to be a winter wonderland. While it’s a point of the year not many are built for, the Orange are about to be dancing through a winter wonderland.

Fresh off an extended break after downing Tennessee, SU will defeat Saint Joseph’s to start what will be a six-game winning streak once conference play begins against Clemson on Dec. 31. The Hawks are one of the worst offensive teams in the country and, unfortunately for them, they’ll be traveling to the JMA Wireless Dome to face one of the nation’s best defenses.

With or without Freeman, SU’s offense should be fully equipped to capture another double-digit victory. Like I said before the Tennessee game: the Orange’s offense hasn’t had Starling, Nate Kingz, Naithan George and Kiyan Anthony all click at the same time.

If they can do so versus Saint Joseph’s, Syracuse will cruise to a blowout win. And even if only a pair of them step up, it should be more than enough to still capture at least a 10-point victory.

Published on December 10, 2025 at 8:41 pm