Observations from SU’s win over GT: Offensive explosion, George’s revenge
In Syracuse's 82-72 win over Georgia Tech, Donnie Freeman scored a career-high 27 points in his first start back from injury. Courtesy of Georgia Tech Athletics
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It looked like a different Syracuse team than we’ve seen recently when J.J. Starling aggressively drove to the rim and threw down a one-handed jam midway through the first half.
Turns out, this was a different SU squad. A better one, in fact. It was the high-octane offense and tenacious defense that third-year head coach Adrian Autry told Orange fans they’d see this season.
In Syracuse’s second Atlantic Coast Conference matchup against Georgia Tech, the Orange played one of their most complete games of the season, despite nearly allowing the Yellow Jackets to come back by conceding a late 9-0 run and 11 second-half turnovers. Led by a season-high 44 first-half points and Donnie Freeman’s career-best 27 points, SU downed GT 82-72 in a crucial road victory.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (10-5, 1-1 ACC) conference win over Georgia Tech (10-6, 1-2 ACC) Tuesday night in Atlanta:
Welcome back, Nait
Naithan George was back in his former home arena for SU’s first true road game of the season. George, the former Yellow Jackets point guard who led the ACC in assists per game in 2024-25, bolted to Syracuse in the transfer portal after two seasons in Atlanta.
In his homecoming, where he was treated to boos by the GT crowd throughout the game, George dropped 17 points — shooting 3-for-3 in the first half — and dished out five assists. Though he turned the ball over six times, he made up for it with a 10-for-10 mark from the free-throw line.
He still ran the floor with efficiency, often getting Syracuse out on the fast break, while showing off his own shot-creating skills in one of his best games with SU so far. George’s big night started with an early 3-point make from the right wing and later on, he penetrated the lane in transition and made a tough layup falling to his left, putting Syracuse up 36-26 at the time.
One of his best plays of the evening came with under a minute left before halftime, when George fed Kiyan Anthony for an open midrange jumper to give the Orange a 42-30 lead.
All game long, George played like the George SU brought him in to be, helping the Orange to a fairly lopsided victory over his former Yellow Jackets squad.
Moving the ball — and hitting some 3s
Yet again, the Orange have not found a consistent stroke from beyond the 3-point line this season. Despite SU bringing in experienced 3-point marksmen via the portal in Nate Kingz and Tyler Betsey, it has only resulted in a 30.9% hit rate from 3 thus far — the 286th-ranked 3-point percentage in the country. And just 25.9% of Syracuse’s points come from 3-pointers, which is far below the Division I average, per KenPom.
Autry made it clear heading into SU’s contest versus GT that he wants more opportunities for its top shooters. He also feels the Orange’s ball movement has lacked as of late; Syracuse’s 48.1% assist rate ranked second-to-last in the ACC before Tuesday’s game.
“We need to make a conscious effort (to get) them some more shots,” Autry said on the ACC Coaches Call Monday about finding more perimeter looks for Kingz, Betsey and other shooters. “But a lot of it we talked about and addressed was just ball movement. We know we need to move the ball a little bit more.”
The Orange did just that against the Yellow Jackets. They displayed their best ball movement of the season and subsequently generated a productive evening from beyond the arc, where they finished making 26 of their 61 shots (42.6%).
Within the opening five minutes, SU moved the ball with proficiency and knocked down three of its first six 3-point attempts, including Freeman swinging the ball to Kingz at the top of the key for a long-distance make. Another 3 from Anthony gave Syracuse a 30-21 lead, a play made possible by relentless off-ball movement and clean passing to set the guard up from deep.
Syracuse’s pristine ball movement continued in the second half. Before the game’s last under-12 timeout, George whipped an impressive sidearm pass through traffic to Betsey for a corner 3, increasing the Orange’s advantage to 65-49.
Overall, SU racked up 15 assists off 26 made field goals versus the Yellow Jackets.
Freeman back in the starting 5
In his return from a nine-game absence due to a right foot injury, Freeman came off the bench against Clemson, dropped 18 points (all in the second half) and was a made 3 away from taking the Tigers to overtime. That was enough for Autry to feel Freeman has recovered enough to return to the starting five, which he did versus Georgia Tech.
Freeman played fantastic in his first start back from injury, helping Syracuse’s spacing look the best it’s been all season. He unleashed 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting and hauled in nine rebounds, the key cog influencing SU’s offensive explosion as well as its stout defensive performance.
The 6-foot-9 sophomore picked up right where he left off from the loss to Clemson, drilling a 3 near the 16-minute mark of the first half before driving through the lane and slamming a dunk before the first under-12 timeout.
With Freeman in the fold, Syracuse’s high pick and roll game opened up and saw Georgia Tech’s defense spread out wide in the half court — the result Autry intended. Early in the second half, Freeman caught a pass from George and nailed a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key, bringing the forward to 18 points on the night and giving SU a 54-34 cushion. And a ferocious two-handed dunk with 1:29 left proved to be the dagger.
Freeman is the star Syracuse needs to ignite its team. And it’s clear the Orange have found their sweet spot on offense, particularly when Freeman is back on the floor.
Autry’s bench usage
Having Freeman back in the fold gives Autry more options with his rotation. Against Georgia Tech, SU’s head coach did a few notable things with his bench usage, particularly sliding Freeman to the 5, subbing out William Kyle III and bringing Betsey off the bench as the 4.
This gave the Orange a lineup of George, Anthony (off the bench), Kingz, Betsey and Freeman — a group where every player on the floor can shoot, pass and drive. It worked to a T. Syracuse ran ragged and shot efficiently with that group on the floor, while Freeman’s rim-protecting presence stymied GT’s shorthanded frontcourt.
Autry’s usage of freshmen Anthony and Sadiq White off the bench was specifically intriguing. White played seven minutes in the first half — and only eight overall — as Autry favored small ball with Betsey or leaving Kyle on the floor as a defensive stopper. White played solid — throwing down an alley-oop jam off a pass from Starling in the first half — but Tuesday showed his playing time might decrease with Freeman back at full strength.
Then there was the other rookie: Anthony. Carmelo’s son was electric against the Yellow Jackets, scoring 11 points off the bench off 4-for-9 shooting (2-for-4 from 3-point range) in 18 minutes. Anthony greatly improved SU’s floor spacing and gave it a crucial long-distance shooting option, playing more composed than he has all season.
Most importantly, Autry displayed a clear desire for the Orange to run the floor with speed and utilize lineups that have more shooters — which worked quite well in Atlanta.
At last, Syracuse shows an offensive identity
SU’s offensive identity has been a mystery throughout Autry’s third campaign at the helm. The Orange came into Tuesday with a much slower pace than they had last season and have struggled to space the floor in half-court sets all year long.
That changed against Georgia Tech. Syracuse found its identity, operating its offense around Donnie Freeman and freeing up shooters in the half court by heavily using off-ball movement.
Finally, the Orange relied on more than just initial action — high pick and rolls and dribble hand-offs — to kickstart their offense. They were fluid through well-placed off-ball screens and aggressive drives to the rim that often opened up shooters. Plus, with Freeman back in the starting five, Syracuse could score by simply giving the star forward opportunities in isolation.
For a team that’s been vanilla for much of 2025-26, the Orange cooked with the right amount of spice against the Yellow Jackets, a very encouraging sign here in early January.
