What Adrian Autry said following Syracuse's 85-47 win over Binghamton

Syracuse opened the 2025-26 campaign on the right foot with a one-sided 85-47 victory over Binghamton on Monday night at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange jumped ahead 10-0 in the first few minutes and never looked back as five players finished with double-digit points.

Here's what Adrian Autry said following SU's win.

J.J. Starling goes down

Syracuse started strong offensively out of the gate, putting Binghamton quickly on the back foot by jumping ahead 8-0. Then, adversity struck. After assisting on William Kyle III’s dunk at the 17:34 mark, J.J. Starling limped off the court with an apparent lower-body injury. Moments later, he emerged from the Orange’s locker room in sweats and never returned to the game.

Surrounded by SU’s new-look roster filled with transfers and underclassmen, it’s anticipated that Starling will be one of SU’s major leaders this season. The guard finished last year with a career-best 17.8 points in 26 games played for the Orange. Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry didn’t seem too concerned about his star player after the game.

“J.J. will be fine. (He sustained) a lower-body injury I guess, but I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Autry said.

Syracuse’s struggles from three persist

Syracuse’s newly assembled roster showed promise in many areas throughout its two exhibition games. Shooting three-pointers wasn’t one of them. Between its contests against Buffalo and Pace, SU shot a combined 14-for-43 (32.6) from behind the arc. Not awful, but not that impressive, either.

On Monday, however, the Orange’s 3-point shooting was almost nonexistent. Syracuse finished the evening with a dismal 4-for-21 clip from 3, not making its first shot from distance until nearly 17 minutes into the first half. When asked about his team’s struggles from three-point range, Donnie Freeman didn’t seem too worried.

“Even if we made just half of those, imagine what that would look like?” Freeman said.

Autry shared a similar sentiment.

“The way we’re going to win isn’t how many 3s we make," Autry said. "That’s not what this team is about. We take good shots on offense and that’s it. We won’t let our offense dictate if we win or not."

Donnie Freeman, William Kyle III step up

When Starling went down just minutes into its season, Syracuse’s depth was given its first real test. Thanks to the efforts of Freeman and Kyle among others, SU passed.

In his first regular-season action since undergoing surgery for a foot injury last year, Freeman looked like his old self from start to finish. The forward set the tone for SU’s attack for much of the night, albeit against a far less talented Binghamton squad. Behind a strong 7-for-11 mark from two-point range and a 6-for-8 clip from the charity stripe, Freeman racked up a game-high 20 points.

“He does a really good job of putting pressure on the rim," Autry said. "He hasn’t shot well yet, but he has the ability to make those shots. To me, he’s going to be one of the best young players in the country this year."

Alongside Freeman, Kyle enjoyed an almost equally productive night. A presence in the paint from the outset, the UCLA transfer dunked his way to a scintillating 8-for-9 mark from inside the arc for 16 points.

“Will is an exceptional defender, but he has a little more to his game than I think people give him credit for," Autry said. "He’s a really good passer, he can go off the bounce a little bit more. He did what I thought he could do."

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