Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse University men’s basketball team just needed to win.
The Orange had to snap out of a four-game losing funk by any means necessary to avoid the school’s first five-game losing streak since the Johnson Administration.
Now what if I told you part of that strategy to beat Notre Dame, 86-72 on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome would be to pull the team’s best player out of the starting lineup.
Wait, what?
Apparently that’s what head coach Adrian Autry meant when he said “everything is on the table now.”
Autry’s move to bench Donnie Freeman, the ACC’s fourth-leading scorer at 19.2 points per game, for freshman Sadiq White was unconventional, yet effective.
Syracuse came out of the gate with its hair on fire defensively and moved with purpose and precision.
SU’s ball movement was as crisp as it has been all season (a refreshing break from the usual isolation ball slog) with the Orange collecting 21 assists on 32 field goals.
Benching Freeman is not exactly why Nate Kingz had a season-high 28 points, JJ Starling shot 9-of-13 for 21 points or Naithan George had 10 assists to zero turnovers against the Irish.
But the move was the sore thumb that stood out from Saturday’s game.
So why do it?
“Me and Donnie talked. And I just thought in this game in particular, the matchups were a little bit better,” Autry said. “We talked. He was ready to go. It was nothing but a strategic game plan.”
Freeman agreed that, uh, “matchups” was the way to go to beat the Irish.
“I’m going to do what’s best for the team,” Freeman said. “It was more matchup-based than anything.”
Autry said after the game he wasn’t sure if he would continue the strategy going forward.
“He wants to win,” Autry said of Freeman. “That’s the great thing about it. Having him come off the bench today was a big boost for us.”
Playing your best player for just 22 minutes might be good enough to beat ACC cellar dweller Notre Dame, especially with the way Kingz and Starling went off.
I fail to see how that strategy will outwit No. 16 North Carolina and No. 17 Virginia next week in two critical ACC road games, but Autry is free to prove us all wrong again.
Autry was spot on to note that Saturday’s win was “our most complete game we’ve had in a long time.”
Syracuse needed to get the screaming tea kettle off the burner and relive some tension around town.
It’s never good when callers are pulling stunts on the head coach’s call-in talk show asking who should replace you at the job you still occupy.
SU was down but not yet out.
“I didn’t want to see anyone’s head down,” Autry said of his message at practice this week. “No one’s feeling sorry. I’ve said it before. I really believe in the team. Even in this tough stretch we’ve played well enough to win games. The one thing we can’t do is hold our heads down.”
SU’s sharp ball movement was also unconventional, but so, so refreshing.
That’s a strategy it should plan to stick with no matter who the opponent is.
It notably allowed Kingz to spring free for five 3-pointers, shooting 11-of-17 overall.
George was the poised and smart point guard SU needs him to be. He ran the offense and didn’t force trying to be the offense.
It’s always a good idea when Starling wants to pop off for 17 points in a half.
Freeman’s switch to role player left him with more shot attempts. Starling was a perfect 7-of-7 in the first half.
Hopefully the arm Starling took to the face late didn’t shake him up too bad.
Syracuse Orange guard J.J. Starling (2) is dazed after a hard foul against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday Jan. 31, 2026, in Syracuse, N.Y.
Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com
Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com
“It was a total team win,” Autry said. “I thought our guys trusted each other. We locked in our defense for 40 minutes. We haven’t done that for awhile. I thought we played with toughness. That’s the start of what we need to be like every game. That will give us a chance.”
What other wrinkles can Autry implement going forward to try and save a run to play meaningful games in March?
Let’s get weird.
There is a five-star football player on the roster. Does Autry have a hook-and-ladder type play he can insert into the offense?
Maybe instead of putting Noah Lobdell into the game in the closing seconds, he should start for the Orange in Chapel Hill against the Tar Heels on Monday.
Hubert Davis will never see that coming!
I kid, I kid.
But you still have to wonder.
From his temporary (?) spot as a reserve, Freeman put into perspective what’s ahead as the calendar flips to February and with two of the toughest road trips of the year on deck to Chapel Hill and Charlottesville.
“I think this is probably the biggest week of the season, despite Vegas,” Freeman said. “I think this right here is bigger than Vegas in my opinion. Two away games, two ranked opponents. This could really flip our season in a total different direction, if we get these two.”
It’s interesting that Freeman referenced SU’s trip to Las Vegas earlier this season.
Plan A wasn’t working for Syracuse going into the Notre Dame game, so Autry took a risk (and a big one at that) on a eyebrow-raising Plan B to shake things up.
The gamble paid off.
Will Autry walk away from the table with the small victory or splash the pot with more bold moves?
When you really need a win, you’ll try almost anything to change your luck.