Syracuse’s season takes another hit in loss to VT — and it only gets harder
Syracuse's margin for error thins after its two-point loss to Virginia Tech, with seven remaining Quad 1 matchups. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
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Adrian Autry put it bluntly: “We get another chance, and we walk under the f—ing basketball, under the rim and we don’t get the rebound.”
It resulted in Autry putting his head down, walking toward the end of Syracuse’s bench and standing motionless for a few seconds. Soon after, the horn to SU’s loss sounded.
“Off the free throw line. Gotta get the rebound,” he added postgame.
While not the sole reason that Syracuse (12-7, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) fell 76-74 to Virginia Tech (15-5, 4-3 ACC) for its second straight loss, the missed rebound adds to the list of painful ways the Orange have crumbled in the second half this season.
Free throws cost SU a golden opportunity against Houston. A potential missed foul call sealed an upset loss to Hofstra. Donnie Freeman missed an open look to force overtime against Clemson. Turnovers and a squandered seven-point lead led to an overtime loss at Boston College Saturday.
“These little things are starting to haunt us now,” Freeman said after taking full responsibility for SU’s loss after scoring a season-low 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
Heading into the matchup against the Hokies, EvanMiya labeled SU as a team that has “Lots of Work To Do” to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. With a loss, the Orange took another step back, making their margin for error even smaller, with seven Quad 1 games in their final 13 regular-season contests.
Going forward, Freeman said SU needs to play for desperation, while William Kyle III and Sadiq White Jr. labeled every game as a “must-win.” In a potentially make-or-break Year 3 for Autry.
A player's parent just came over to the media table and said "poor coaching" as the game concluded.
Big yikes.
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) January 22, 2026
“Everyone is frustrated, I understand that frustration,” Autry said. “We’ll get refocused, and we’ll go out there and we’ll fight.”
For Autry and Co. to turn SU’s season around, closing second halves would be a strong start. After getting outscored 46-37 across the final 20 minutes by VT, Syracuse has now lost the second half in nine of its games this year — including six of its seven losses.
Despite falling to the Hokies, the Orange led for nearly 28 minutes. While Virginia Tech took its first lead since the opening four minutes with 11:11 remaining in the second half, several lead changes ensued before SU trailed 54-53 at the 6:54 mark.
With the game up for grabs down the stretch, Virginia Tech got its lift from Ben Hammond, who scored 11 of his game-high 24 points during that span. Anchored by Hammond, the Hokies embarked on a 14-6 run over the next nearly five minutes to take a 68-59 lead with 1:02 remaining. But Syracuse managed to stay alive.
Tyler Betsey canned a 3-pointer before Hammond made a pair of free throws for VT. On the ensuing possession, Betsey was fouled on a 3-point attempt, which led him to make three shots from the charity stripe.
White then notched a steal, leading to a Freeman layup that cut the Orange’s deficit to 70-67 with 37 seconds left. Though VT’s Tobi Lawal proceeded to make two free throws — the Hokies were 26-of-36 from the line, while SU was 12-of-14 — J.J. Starling raced down the court before dropping in an easy layup.
Once again, Syracuse then forced a turnover before a timeout was called with VT up by three. Out of the break, the Orange dialed an open 3-point look for Nate Kingz — who made three 3s — that missed the mark with 15 seconds remaining. After starting the game 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, SU finished 10-of-23.
“We got a clean look to tie it up, that’s all you can ask for,” Autry said.
After Virginia Tech corralled the rebound, Neoklis Avdalas was fouled and split his free throws. Again, Starling raced down the court for a deuce, cutting the score to 73-71 with seven seconds to go. Avdalas was fouled once more, but he failed to put the game away after splitting his free throws.
Had the Orange gotten the rebound, they would’ve had roughly five seconds to take a 3-point heave to force overtime. Instead, Lawal snagged the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws. Afterward, Naithan George, who finished with six points, drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that officially sealed a 76-74 loss.
This is about as angry as I’ve ever seen Adrian Autry to start his press conference: pic.twitter.com/xPVDQytt5v
— Justin Girshon (@JustinGirshon) January 22, 2026
“It opens our eyes a little bit more, like we dropped a lot of games that we could have won,” Kiyan Anthony said postgame. “You’re not supposed to do that as a basketball team, especially as a talented basketball team that we are.”
While even just a couple of Syracuse’s losses going its way would likely change the narrative of the season, it didn’t do enough down the stretch to win those games.
Now, as matchups loom against six of the top seven teams in the ACC, per KenPom, the Orange have put themselves in a spot where they have to be nearly flawless to have any hope of snapping the program’s longest March Madness drought in over five decades.
It’s not impossible. But SU must flip a switch that turns Autry’s 4-21 record in Quad 1 games around quickly.
If that doesn’t happen, Syracuse risks a fifth straight season missing the NCAA Tournament, further raising questions about the program’s direction under Autry.
