Observations from SU’s loss to NC State: Copeland shines, 2nd half struggles
SU dropped its fourth consecutive game in an 83-63 road loss to NC State, where the Orange were outscored by 16 points in the second half. Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
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After dropping its third consecutive game in an 85-76 loss to Miami on Saturday, Syracuse traveled to Raleigh looking to snap its skid against NC State. The Wolfpack are on track to make the NCAA Tournament in Will Wade’s first season at the helm, placing No. 27 in the NET Rankings.
The Orange, meanwhile, dropped to No. 79 in the NET Rankings, making it look likely they’ll miss March Madness for the fifth consecutive season in a potential make-or-break year for head coach Adrian Autry.
However, if SU were to start turning its fortunes, it’d have to begin by notching a Quad 1 win over NC State. That didn’t happen.
Instantly, NC State took a lead that it never relinquished. While SU hung around to cut its halftime deficit to four, it once again struggled in the second en route to an 88-68 defeat for its fourth straight loss.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (12-9, 3-5 ACC) 20-point loss to NC State (15-6, 6-2 ACC):
Quadir Copeland shines in revenge game
Heading into his first matchup against Syracuse since transferring after the 2023-24 season, Quadir Copeland said, “It’s definitely gonna be personal.” Copeland explained he wanted to find a coach who believed in him as a point guard, which he found in Wade at McNeese State before following him to NC State. Entering the matchup, Copeland’s 7.60 EvanMiya Bayesian Performance Rating led all ACC guards.
He showed why in the early going, making two free throws and assisting the Wolfpack’s first two made 3-pointers to help them take a 10-2 lead. While the Orange never let the deficit reach double digits before trimming it to four by halftime, Copeland closed the first half with eight points, six assists and two steals.
Despite NC State being in control throughout the game, its lead was cut to four at the 11:50 mark. Copeland ensured SU wouldn’t come closer, getting downhill for an and-1.
After his layup dropped through the net, the point guard flexed his muscles and showcased the script on the front of his jersey while staring into the TV camera. He then made the free throw before drawing another foul and knocking down another two from the charity stripe to make the score 60-51.
Down the stretch, Copeland scored another four points, helping him notch a near double-double versus his former program. The point guard finished with 19 points, nine assists and four steals.
Darrion Williams and Donnie Freeman duel
Darrion Williams entered the season as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game as a junior at Texas Tech last season. However, Williams hasn’t quite lived up to his preseason billing throughout an up-and-down season, averaging 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Heading into the matchup against Syracuse, Williams, a 6-foot-6 forward, was averaging a shade under 11 points across NC State’s last 10 games. He nearly topped that mark in the first half, scoring 12 points while making two 3-pointers.
On the other side, Syracuse’s star forward is Donnie Freeman, who averaged a team-best 18.7 points per game. The Orange faltered to a 5-4 record in the nine games he missed earlier this season, while they’re 7-4 when he plays. He began the game by scoring SU’s first eight points en route to percolating for 16 first-half points.
Though Freeman won the first half battle between the stars and scored the first points of the second half, Williams instantly answered with an assist to Copeland before draining two 3-pointers, helping the Wolfpack extend their lead to 49-41 at the 15:35 mark. Though J.J. Starling answered with an and-1, Williams notched back-to-back assists to give the Wolfpack a nine-point lead.
Syracuse held Williams scoreless for the next 10 minutes while Freeman increased his point total to 24, but the Orange never got the score back within a possession. When Williams scored again — a layup at the 5:16 mark — the Wolfpack pushed their advantage to 72-61.
While Freeman — who also corralled a game-high 10 rebounds — outscored Williams 24-23, Williams had six assists to Freeman’s zero. Freeman was 9-of-18 (2-of-4 from 3) from the field, while Williams was 9-of-16 (5-of-9 from 3).
Syracuse loses another second half
Across their first seven ACC games, Syracuse only scored more points than its opponent in the second half once. Trailing 41-37 at the half, the Orange, mathematically, had to win the second half to pull off an upset win.
While SU quickly cut its deficit down to two to begin the half, that was the closest it got the rest of the way. Led by Williams’ 3s and assists, the Wolfpack embarked on a 12-5 run over the next five minutes to extend their advantage to a game-high nine points.
Much like the first half, however, the Wolfpack couldn’t extend their lead to double digits. A Starling 3-pointer stopped the bleeding before he got inside for a layup and Freeman got out in transition, which helped the Orange cut the score to 55-51 over the next couple of minutes.
Copeland then pushed the advantage to nine points by scoring the next five — which helped NC State hold a multiple-possession lead the rest of the way. The closest SU got the rest of the way was when it trailed 64-57 with 8:52 remaining.
In fact, it only got worse as NC State exploded to take an 83-62 lead with 1:59 remaining. After playing just eight guys, Autry emptied his bench, putting in Calvin Russell III, Luke Fennell, Akir Souare and Bryce Zephir — who all hadn’t played.
If there was a positive, Russell — SU’s best modern era football recruitd — scored his first collegiate points on an and-1. Nonetheless, the Orange lost by 20.
Starling steps up, but nobody else does
Averaging 18.7 points, Freeman can always be counted on to shoulder Syracuse’s scoring load. What happens outside of that usually changes game-by-game. On Tuesday, Starling was the one who stepped up alongside Freeman, scoring 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
The problem is that nobody else stepped up, as everyone else on the Orange failed to reach double-digit points. Syracuse’s next highest scorers were Kiyan Anthony and Nate Kingz, who each had six points.
Naithan George, who has struggled in his first year with the Orange after leading the ACC in assists at Georgia Tech last year, had four points on 4-of-12 shooting while adding five rebounds and three assists.
Freeman and Starling combined to take 37 of the Orange’s 67 shots and scored 41 of their 68 points.
