Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

A third straight loss to Miami on Saturday placed Syracuse under the .500 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Following a league-opening loss to Clemson on New Year’s Eve, the Orange rattled off three straight wins.

Since its 3-1 start, SU has sunk to three straight losses. Defeats to Boston College, Virginia Tech and then Miami pushed the Orange to 12th in the ACC. Now, the schedule isn’t getting any easier. Syracuse takes on NC State for its first Quad 1 opportunity since Dec. 2, when the Orange took down then-No. 13 Tennessee.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (12-8, 3-4 ACC) will fare against NC State (14-6, 5-2 ACC):

Aiden Stepansky (14-6)
Snowed out
Syracuse 73, NC State 80

Despite this colossal snowstorm, Syracuse will need to play its best basketball to compete with the Wolfpack and make this a competitive game. All signs from the Orange over the last two weeks prove they’re currently not capable of that.

NC State is just 1-5 in Quad 1 opportunities but 13-1 across all other games. The Wolfpack has impressed in conference play thus far by defeating most of their easy opponents and knocking off Clemson in overtime on the road.

The rebuilt roster in Will Wade’s first year possessed balanced scoring with efficiency. NC State ranks 10th in the country in 3-point percentage (39.4%) and 29th in effective field goal rating (56.6%). SU is a far cry from those numbers offensively, and on the defensive side, it has lost all touch of its once dominant force.

This is a perfect chance for the Orange to add to their resume. But in its current state, Syracuse can’t take down a team of this caliber. SU will claw throughout the game and make it close, but the Wolfpack’s four scorers, averaging over 13 points per game, are bound to break through eventually. One of them will, and as a result, send the Orange home with a fourth-straight loss.

Cooper Andrews (15-5)
A Quad Copeland loss
Syracuse 69, NC State 82

In modern college basketball, all the talk when judging teams’ NCAA Tournament cases is Quad 1 this and Quad 2 that. Though the Orange have a chance on Tuesday to secure what would be a monumental Quad 1 win over the Wolfpack, I think this one will be remembered because of a different type of Quad.

Quadir Copeland.

The former Jim Boeheim recruit out of IMG Academy will pick Syracuse apart in Raleigh, exacting his revenge on the program that didn’t want him anymore. I see SU losing this one by double digits and staying in the same rut that it entered when it lost to Boston College a week and a half ago. Copeland will constantly dish to the Wolfpack’s 3-point shooters while limiting turnovers across the board for NC State, and Syracuse won’t come close to matching that.

There are very few avenues I could see the Orange taking to win this game. NC State is more talented, better coached and does the little things well. Even though Donnie Freeman provides Syracuse with a possible advantage down low, his 21.4% shooting percentage against Virginia Tech and measly 14 points versus Miami are causes for concern.

Justin Girshon (13-7)
No more delusion
Syracuse 72, NC State 85

I’ve had faith in this Syracuse squad all season. Preseason, I thought the Orange were going to make March Madness. After a golden opportunity slipped against Houston, I thought SU would bounce back with a win against Kansas, and when that didn’t happen, I thought there’s no way they’d lose a third straight against Iowa State.

Following two losses, I triple-dogged-double-downed, predicting Syracuse to defeat Tennessee. I was finally right! Since then, I’ve picked the Orange to win every game. To put SU’s performances in those games kindly, I haven’t been correct as often as I would hope.

Now, I’m finally off the wagon. Before the Miami game, my headline for my prediction was: Am I delusional? Following a double-digit point loss to the Hurricanes, the Orange showed me that I am, in fact, delusional. I’ve reached the point where I no longer believe in SU, despite still believing the talent is there to compete with anyone.

I say all of this to say I have very little faith SU will rattle off a desperately-needed Quad 1 win against NC State. The Wolfpack are well-coached, have a talented roster, have the results thus far to earn a March Madness bid and are playing at home. That’s a lot of things going against Syracuse, which will lead to a fourth straight loss.

Published on January 26, 2026 at 10:21 pm