GAME NOTES: The Syracuse Orange have gotten hot of late, and they will try to keep the momentum going on Saturday when they visit Littlejohn Coliseum for an Atlantic Coast Conference tussle with Clemson.

Syracuse has reeled off seven straight wins and remains unbeaten in ACC play along with second-ranked Virginia. The Orange hosted Wake Forest on Tuesday night and came away with an 86-83 victory in overtime. The 86 points marked their second-highest scoring output of the season, although the 83 points also stand as the most they have yielded in a game.

Clemson has lost three of its last four contests. Most recently, the Tigers were on the wrong end of a 65-42 final at Virginia on Tuesday. They will open a three-game homestand with Saturday's tilt.

Syracuse is 2-1 all-time against Clemson.

The Orange shot 9-of-21 from beyond the arc against Wake Forest and committed only eight turnovers for the game. Rakeem Christmas (18.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg) was the main catalyst, as he grabbed nine rebounds and scored a career-high 35 points, including four key free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

In fact, Christmas' 35 points are the most scored by any ACC player in a game this season. Trevor Cooney (14.5 ppg) had 21 points to go along with five assists and four steals, while Michael Gbinije (10.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg) tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. That trio scored Syracuse's final 28 points of the contest. Gbinije's double-double was his third in the last four games, and Cooney knocked down five 3-pointers to raise his total to a dozen threes over the last two games.

The Tigers were just 1-2 on their recent road trip, although they did manage to outrebound all three opponents, including a +17 margin in last Saturday's win over Pittsburgh and +5 against No. 2 Virginia earlier this week. However, Clemson suffered through a first-half scoring drought of nearly seven minutes against UVA, and the Cavaliers closed out the opening period with a 15-2 run. The Cavs went on to shoot 62.5 percent from the floor in the second stanza while knocking down 10-of-21 threes for the game. Clemson shot just 35.7 percent from the floor and forced only four turnovers on defense.

Jaron Blossomgame led the way with a team-high nine points and 10 rebounds, snapping his 13-game streak in double figures.

The Tigers would be wise to flip on Tuesday's game tape and see how Wake Forest was able to consistently penetrate Syracuse's 2-3 zone and get open looks. Still, even with homecourt advantage, they simply lack the offensive firepower to stand toe-to-toe with the Orange.