Riding a three-game conference losing streak, Syracuse traveled to Raleigh searching for answers—and found none, falling 86–66 to N.C. State. The loss didn’t solve anything or reveal new fixes; instead, it reinforced the same problems that have plagued the Orange throughout conference play.
Copeland gets the last word
Former Syracuse guard—and now Wolfpack starter—Quadir Copeland made one thing clear Tuesday night: this matchup mattered. Copeland wasted little time making his point, torching his former team for 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting. His energy set the tone early, and Syracuse never found a response.
After the game, Adirain Autry was quite impressed with the Senior, saying “He’s a lot to handle, 6-6 guard that can move, wiggle, and see over the defense. See over the traps. You try to force him to go to different places, he’s used to that”.
Wolfpack forward Darrion Williams shined alongside Copeland, scoring 23 points – his second best total of the season.
Offensive inconsistency
Nothing was easy on offense for the Cuse. Once again, Cuse could not find its shot from deep. After shooting a season low 23% from three point territory in the loss to Miami, the Orange followed up going 7-23 a from beyond the arc against N.C State. Tyler Betsy and Nate Kingz, SU’s two best 3-point shooters, were limited with Betsy only taking 3 shots in total. The bottom line: it’s extremely hard to pick up quality ACC wins when shooting 30% from beyond. Especially in the current form of basketball.
The Orange also missed several open layups and went 9-16 from the cherry stripe – a lingering problem all season which has cost SU multiple games. Donnie Freeman and J.J. Starling led the way with a combined 41 points, with Freeman accumulating extra 10 boards.
What next?
“The Orange standard” is something that has been talked about a lot, especially in the midst of another deeply disappointing season. But what is that standard? Well, for starters, it’s not losing to N.C State, it’s not losing four straight conference games, and it’s definitely not missing the NCAA tournament for the 5th straight season.
Last night, Syracuse was out-rebounded, out-hustled, and embarrassed by N.C. State. Not Duke, or North Carolina, but N.C. State…which, to any long time SU fan, should fill them with rage. With four straight losses, Syracuse seniors, for the second straight year, will not see any tournament appearances during their time on the hill.
With that, whoever takes over Cuse next season must focus not only on the X’s and O’s, but re-building the culture of Syracuse basketball to what it once was. But as learned with Curt Cignetti, who developed IU – the loosingest team in college football history – into national champions in two seasons, it’s not impossible. Not at all.
