Syracuse, N.Y. – If you watched the Syracuse Orange basketball team struggle defensively last season, you might be doing a double-take at what you’re seeing on the court so far this season.
Through the first two games of the 2025-26 season, the Orange’s defense has been downright stifling, holding Binghamton to 47 points and absolutely smothering Delaware State in an 83-43 blowout this past Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome.
But as impressive as these performances have been, the question remains: Does this newfound defensive identity actually mean anything, or is it just the product of playing against severely overmatched opponents?
Syracuse.com basketball reporters Mike Waters and Donna Ditota discussed the Orange’s defensive improvement in the latest edition of the Inside Syracuse Basketball podcast.
“I think that their defensive intensity is good and I think that they are just guarding better,” Ditota said. “Now, how that translates to better teams, that’s yet to be seen, but so far so good.”
That qualifier – how that translates to better teams – the million-dollar question.
What makes the defensive improvement particularly notable isn’t just the low points allowed totals, but how teams are scoring; rather, struggling to score, against the Orange. Ditota noted a key metric that suggests this might be more than just statistical noise against weak competition.
“Last year, teams were scoring on Syracuse a lot and very quickly,’’ she said. “And in these two games, they’re not scoring a lot and they’re not scoring on them quickly either. It’s taken them a long time to pass the ball around a little bit and get a shot. That is a really good development if you’re Syracuse.’’
The two reporters also discussed Kiyan Anthony’s first college start, a few areas of concern, including the Orange’s free throw shooting and their reaction to the first measurable snowfall in Central New York.
