Observations from Syracuse’s loss to No. 15 ISU: 2nd-half meltdown, poor scoring
Syracuse was crushed 95-64 by No. 15 Iowa State in its final Players Era Festival game in Las Vegas for its largest defeat since 2023. Courtesy of Joseph Alleyne
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LAS VEGAS — Three games. Three days. Three elite Big 12 programs. The first two resulted in losses to No. 3 Houston in overtime on Monday and to Kansas on Tuesday.
Somehow, it culminated in Syracuse facing No. 15 Iowa State for its final game of the Players Era Festival on Wednesday. The Cyclones defeated No. 14 St. John’s and Creighton across their first two games, which should’ve had them closer to a championship game than facing an 0-2 team in the tournament.
SU was without leading scorer Donnie Freeman for a third straight game, while ISU’s Tamin Lipsey (18.4 points per game) was sidelined for a second straight game with an injury he sustained on Monday.
The Orange only trailed by one at halftime but collapsed in the second half, leading to a 31-point loss. In what would’ve been the perfect time for SU to reintroduce itself to the college basketball world with a win in Las Vegas, it instead leaves Sin City 0-3 in a pivotal third year for head coach Adrian Autry.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (4-3, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 95-64 blowout loss against No. 15 Iowa State (7-0, 0-0 Big 12):
Iowa State’s second half blitz
The first half went exactly how Syracuse needed it to go to have a chance. SU kept it close and was on track to prevent Iowa State from scoring more than 70 points.
Then everything unraveled in the first four minutes after halftime. The Orange and Cyclones at first traded baskets, but Iowa State then embarked on an 18-2 run over the next three minutes, effectively putting the game out of reach.
As was the case throughout much of the game, turnovers plagued Syracuse. A Milan Momcilovic 3-pointer kick-started the run, before back-to-back SU turnovers gave the Cyclones another easy four points. It pushed their advantage to 45-37 at the 17:36 mark, forcing Autry to call a timeout.
J.J. Starling made a layup out of the break, but ISU’s Blake Buchanan answered right back with one of his own. Tyler Betsey then missed a layup, leading to a fast-break Killyan Toure 3-pointer.
The Orange put the ball in prized newcomer Naithan George’s hands, but he turned it over, and Momcilovic drew nylon from beyond the arc. It forced another Autry timeout, this time at the 16-minute mark, trailing 53-39.
Iowa State’s lead ballooned to as many as 35 en route to the blowout win. All it took was one look at the turnover discrepancy (SU had 19 to ISU’s nine) and the Orange shot 39.3% from the floor compared to the Cyclones’ 59.0% clip to know how this game went.
Nobody takes scoring initiative
Without Freeman, who averaged a team-high 17.8 points across SU’s first four games, the Orange have struggled to find someone to take the scoring load against Houston and Kansas. In both games, Betsey was their leading scorer by notching 16 and 12 points — which is encouraging for the Cincinnati transfer, but not encouraging for Syracuse.
Typically, Starling, who averaged 17.8 points last year en route to being named an ACC Preseason Second Team selection, should be that guy. But after missing most of SU’s first three games with an injury, his season high is just 11 points. Starling scored 10 against ISU, shooting 4-of-9 from the field.
George and Nate Kingz, meanwhile, were pivotal additions for SU in the transfer portal, but also didn’t step up. George led the ACC in assists while scoring 12.3 points per game, and Kingz nailed 44.6% of his triples while averaging 11.8 points.
However, George entered Wednesday averaging 10.3 points, while Kingz was at 8.7 while shooting 22.6% from deep. On Wednesday, they were a combined 3-of-11 from the field for 10 points. Though George had six assists, he also had seven turnovers.
Syracuse’s leading scorer was Sadiq White Jr. The freshman scored 14 points (6-of-7 shooting), while Betsey (10 points, 3-of-14 shooting) also scored in double figures.
Despite Lipsey’s absence, Iowa State didn’t have any trouble stepping up. Momcilovic entered Wednesday’s game averaging 15.7 points and exploded for a game-high 24.
Meanwhile, Toure (19), Joshua Jefferson (13), Buchanan (12) and Dominick Nelson (12) all scored in double figures.
Freshmen give Orange early lift
Nobody playing three games in three days is supposed to look especially great in the third game. Through the first five minutes, Syracuse had as many points as turnovers (three). Luckily for the Orange, Iowa State wasn’t faring much better, commanding just a 6-3 lead — with SU’s points coming off a 3 from freshman Sadiq White.
A William Kyle III and-one got the Orange going before their trio of freshmen gave a lift. Fresh off a 2-of-12 shooting game versus the Jayhawks, Kiyan Anthony splashed a catch-and-shoot triple from the right wing to give Syracuse a 9-7 lead at the 14:11 mark. Two and a half minutes later, Luke Fennell — who didn’t play in the first two Players Era games — also drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score at 14.
On the ensuing possession, Anthony connected with White for an alley-oop before Anthony got to the rim for an easy deuce on the next possession. The freshmen helped the Orange take an 18-16 lead with 8:56 before halftime.
Despite the early lift from the neophytes, Syracuse’s veterans didn’t step up and the game unraveled. As the Orange’s deficit ballooned into the 30s, freshman center Tiefing Diawara received his first playing time in the Players Era Festival.
Trading first half runs
After White, Anthony and Fennell gave the Orange a two-point lead, Iowa State responded with a 12-0 run. It started with Jamarion Batemon draining a jumper, but SU then handed the Cyclones eight points on three consecutive possessions with turnovers.
Following a Toure 3-pointer, which extended Iowa State’s lead to 28-18, Syracuse called a timeout with 6:57 remaining.
Out of the break, Naithan George hit a much-needed 3-pointer before the Orange forced a stop and Nate Kingz hit an even more important triple. Their 3-pointers quickly cut the Orange’s deficit to 28-24 before a Kyle free throw and a J.J. Starling triple tied the score 28-28 with just over four minutes until halftime.
From there, the Orange and Cyclones mostly traded baskets, but Iowa State led 35-34 at halftime. Then in the second half, Syracuse completely collapsed.
Free throws
After what’s transpired thus far this season, it’s impossible not to talk about free throws. The Orange again struggled against Iowa State, shooting 12-of-19 from the charity stripe.
Kyle got to the line a team-high eight times, draining five of his attempts. George and Betsey were a perfect 2-of-2 from the line apiece, but Starling (1-of-2), Anthony (1-of-2) and White (1-of-3) all had misses.
