Syracuse men’s basketball: Donnie Freeman explodes for career-high 24 points versus UAlbany

Freeman’s breakout game marks a key point in the freshman forward’s recent hot streak.

Syracuse Orange men’s basketball fans briefly had their eyes pop out when the team announced the starting lineup for its Tuesday night game against the UAlbany Great Danes.

The notable absence compared to the usual first five on the court: Donnie Freeman.

“Donnie didn’t start today because he wasn’t feeling well, so it was a game-time decision,” coach Adrian Autry said in the postgame press conference after the Orange’s 102-85 home win. “But, whatever he has, he needs to keep that.”

Some audible laughs can be heard among members of the media, but Freeman’s production was certainly no joke for UAlbany’s defense.

He finished with a career-high 24 points on a near-perfect 10/13 from the field and 4/4 from three. Freeman has scored at least 20 points in three of Syracuse’s last four games. On that volume Tuesday night (tied for second-most shots attempted so far), Freeman’s field goal percentage (76.9%) was also his personal best to begin the season.

“I started inside-out. My first three buckets were dunks. I started to feel good, (and) my teammates started to feel good,” Freeman said after the game. “They started finding me and the basket opened up.”

That certainly checked out. After subbing in off the bench, a few jams around the basket coupled with some consistent energy on defense seemed to get him going:

Freeman after the game said Autry emphasized the team needed to play free and confident.

“I told the whole team, I said ‘block out all the noise, keep playing.’ Again, we haven’t played our best basketball yet,” Autry said. “We know what we’re capable of and I just told the guys… ‘go out there and play.’”

Heading into a critical point of the season with the ACC portion of the schedule on the horizon, it was a well-time performance for Syracuse’s five-star recruit. Freeman is averaging over 19 points per game in his last four games, a tremendous jump compared to the beginning of the season. For context, Freeman averaged just nine points per game in the Orange’s first five games.

Though it is still very early in the 2024-25 season, Freeman’s emerge continues to provide some hope for this year’s Orange. The loss of top-scorer J.J. Starling to injury put an early damper out of the gate; the same day the news broke he would be out, Syracuse got smoked by 26 points to the Tennessee Volunteers.

Fortunately, Freeman’s early play and improved production as of late remains one of the things Syracuse fans can at least feel optimistic about going forward.

Outside just increasing the pure point totals, there’s a clear statistical difference between the past few games versus the beginning of the season:

• First five games: 9.0 FGA per game, 19/45 overall (42%), 3/15 from three (20%), 7/10 on free throws (70%)
• Last four games: 11.5 FGA per game, 27/46 overall (59%), 4/8 from three (50%), 19/22 on free throws (86%)

Albeit in a small sample size, Freeman’s volume has slightly increased… but ditto for the efficiency across the board, both inside and out.

The key against Albany was Freeman going 4/4 from three. Freeman had never hit more than one triple in a game so far this year. It was also the most he’s taken through nine games.

On the other hand, he also scored that career-high without attempting a single free throw. In his last three games, Freeman shot 22 free throws combined and made all but three.

All this being said, Freeman’s potential as a three-level scorer is already starting to flash and at a crucial juncture with Syracuse still absent its top scoring guard and with just three non-conference games remaining on the schedule.

With the Orange now working to build some sort of consistent groove to close out the year, fans are hoping a career night versus Albany continues in the weeks ahead. Up next for Syracuse is the program’s 100th ever game versus the Georgetown Hoyas.

Freeman certainly seems ready to keep his performance up.

“This is a game that has been circled on my calendar for a while,” Freeman said. “I’m ready to come out and compete with my guys.”