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Syracuse suffered another fatal blow to its March Madness resume Saturday. The Orange fell in the closing minutes to Hofstra 70-69, dropping a Quad 3 game and furthering the pressure on third-year head coach Adrian Autry going forward.

SU was supposed to breeze through its final slate of nonconference games before Atlantic Coast Conference play. But the continued absence of Donnie Freeman, mixed with poor point guard play and overall shooting woes, put the Orange on upset alert and eventually led to their fourth loss.

With three nonconference games to go, Syracuse next takes on Mercyhurst. The Lakers have lost all five games against teams in KenPom’s top 200 and hold the longest average possession length in the country at 21.2 seconds.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (6-4, ACC) will fare against Mercyhurst (4-7, Northeast):

Aiden Stepansky (7-3)
The washed anthem
Syracuse 77, Mercyhurst 62

If you’ve been around sports social media for some time, you’ve likely heard the song “Outstanding” by The Gap Band layered over a highlight reel of an aging player. The 1982 hit became synonymous as “the washed anthem” when the Brooklyn Nets used it for Kevin Garnett highlights in the last leg of his career.

Watching Syracuse lose to Hofstra made the tune played in my head. This program is washed at the moment. Teams that make the NCAA Tournament don’t drop games to the Hofstras of the world. The Orange of old don’t either. The Pride were impressive, but SU just downed the No. 13 team in the country. It still has time to revive its season. However, after Saturday’s downfall, it needs to get serious fast.

The Orange will all but likely pummel Mercyhurst even after their horrific play a few days ago. But does it matter? These “buy” games are all layup wins leading up to conference play, and Syracuse already bricked one.

The Lakers are one of the worst teams the Orange will play in the Autry era, as proven by only wins over unranked teams on KenPom and other bottom-of-the-barrel opponents. If SU doesn’t win this one, they won’t be playing for the ACC Tournament, let alone the NCAA one.

Cooper Andrews (7-3)
Back to the easy stuff
Syracuse 78, Mercyhurst 52

We’ve seen what it’s like when the Orange face the worst teams in the nation. Entering Thanksgiving week’s Players Era Festival in Las Vegas — where Syracuse went 0-3 against top-tier programs — SU had KenPom’s lowest strength of schedule in all of Division I. Victories over Binghamton, Delaware State, Drexel and Monmouth were clearly not an indicator of who this Orange team really is. The Tennessee game seemed like the true indicator … until the horror show against Hofstra.

It seems this Syracuse squad is much further from sniffing March Madness than it was two short weeks ago.

But that’s a story for another day. For now, SU has another cupcake game against Mercyhurst, which ranks within KenPom’s bottom 35 teams in the country. The Orange will avenge their previous showing and dominate the Lakers wire-to-wire for a blowout win. They’re back to the easy stuff, and they will take advantage of a Mercyhurst team that’s, frankly, bad at everything.

The Lakers have one of the least efficient offenses in the country and a similar defense, too. They struggle immensely on the boards. Two of their four wins are against non-D-I teams. It’s not rocket science: Syracuse will crush Mercyhurst.

At the end of the day, though, this is just another game for SU literally nobody will remember at the end of the season — a common theme in the Autry era.

Justin Girshon (7-3)
Hopefully not like WICE
Syracuse 79, Mercyhurst 58

Fun fact: Syracuse’s women’s ice hockey team has a 15-55-5 record against Mercyhurst. Last season, in a streak that fellow scribe and former Daily Orange women’s ice hockey beat writer Harris Pemberton described as the “Mercy-curse,” the Orange’s 13-game winless streak against the Lakers was snapped with a 4-2 win on Feb. 15.

While SU finally beat Mercyhurst, and did so again in Game 1 of a best-of-three American Hockey Association Semifinal round, the Lakers had the last laugh when they won the final two games to reach the championship. If SU’s men’s basketball team is anything like its women’s ice hockey program against Mercyhurst, there will be major problems.

Even if the Orange win Wednesday, there could still be major problems. KenPom (No. 331) and EvanMiya (No. 324) both see the Lakers among the worst programs in the country. If Syracuse lets them hang around as it did against Monmouth, Saint Joseph’s and Hofstra, the alarm bells need to be going off.

With that said, this should be a game SU controls from start to finish, and that’s what I expect will happen. This is a great “get right” spot for the Orange, and I see them taking advantage.

Published on December 17, 2025 at 12:00 am