Syracuse, N.Y. ― Syracuse’s defense dominated the day in an 83-43 win over Delaware State at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday.
Syracuse simply overwhelmed a Delaware State team that came into Saturday’s game ranked 354th out of 365 Division I teams by KenPom.com.
Syracuse held Delaware State to 15% shooting in the first half in building a 40-17 halftime lead and cruised from there.
After making only five of their 32 field attempts in the opening half, the Hornets wound up shooting 22% for the game on 14-for-65 shooting.
Delaware State missed its first 12 shots from 3-point range before finally hitting one from beyond the arc with 9 minutes left in the game.
The Orange’s defense aside, Syracuse improved to 2-0 on a day that will probably be best remembered as the first start of Kiyan Anthony’s college career.
Syracuse Orange Men's Basketball 2025: Syracuse vs Delaware St.
The SU freshman started in place of injured starter JJ Starling, who sat out Saturday’s game after suffering an injury to his right hamstring in the Orange’s season-opener against Binghamton on Monday.
Anthony, the son of SU legend Carmelo, scored 19 points to go along with four assists.
Syracuse’s Donnie Freeman scored 13 points in the game’s first 13 minutes. The 6-9 forward went 5-for-6 from the field in the first half. He wound up with a team-high 20 points.
William Kyle, the 6-9 center transfer from UCLA, scored eight points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked six shots for the Orange. Kyle’s six blocks matched the most Syracuse (as an entire team) had in a game last year.
Syracuse’s defense has looked good in its first two games. The Orange held Binghamton to 47 points on Monday.
Delaware State went 1-for-14 (7%) from 3-point range on Saturday. That’s the fourth-lowest percentage for any Syracuse opponent.
Villanova shot 0-for-11 in the 1988 season. Boston U went 0-11 in 1986. Syracuse held St. John’s to 1-for-15 (6.7%) 3-point shooting in the 2013-14 season.
Syracuse’s next game is against Drexel on Saturday, Nov. 15, in Philadelphia. The Orange’s next home game is on Tuesday, Nov. 18 against Monmouth.
