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Adrian Autry reached a new boiling point after Syracuse fell on the road to Wake Forest on Saturday. The third-year head coach, who could be coaching his final few games for the Orange, called out his team’s toughness.

“It’s been a struggle all year for us,” Autry declared. “In college, you’ve got to be tough. You’ve got to do tough things. You got to make tough plays. You got to have resistance. You’ve got to be able to defend. And, you know, we just don’t do that.”

SU will try to prove its head coach wrong by snapping its three-game losing streak with a road win over Louisville. The Cardinals aren’t ranked in the AP Poll, but they’re ranked as both EvanMiya and KenPom’s No. 19 team in the country.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (15-14, 6-10 Atlantic Coast) will fare against Louisville (20-9, 9-7 ACC) Tuesday night in the KFC Yum! Center:

Aiden Stepansky (23-6)
Tough luck
Syracuse 73, Louisville 88

If you didn’t know by now, Autry enjoys the word tough. He said it, or some version of it, a dozen times Saturday after Syracuse’s third-straight loss. The issue, however, lies in the fact Autry only used toughness to describe his squad’s lack thereof. Expect Autry to use that word again, in the same exact context, after the Louisville matchup. The Orange will face some tough luck.

The way Syracuse is playing defensively right now, this matchup has blowout written all over it. Yes, the Cardinals dropped their last two games, but Pat Kelsey’s team possesses one of the best offenses in the country. Louisville leads the ACC at 86.0 points per game and has scored 75 or more points in all but six games this year.

Even without 6-foot-5 freshman Mikel Brown Jr., expect the Cardinals to go nuclear from deep range as the Orange’s guards struggle to limit them. Sure, if SU hits some first-half 3s as it did against the Demon Deacons, it could very well be in this game at halftime. However, Syracuse has proven time and time again that it can’t compete with these top ACC squads, especially on the road.

I’d also like to shamelessly mention that I’ve predicted Syracuse’s last 10 games correctly. Trust me on this one.

Cooper Andrews (22-7)
Absolutely not
Syracuse 70, Louisville 93

Welp. The never-ending funeral for Syracuse’s basketball season got much worse over the weekend. Autry’s rant calling out his team’s lack of toughness was, frankly, the most upset I’ve ever seen him. He’s usually quite a nice guy. But, man, I get the frustration.

Unfortunately the head coach’s message was delivered a little too late. The Orange’s NCAA Tournament hopes are as good as gone (barring an improbable ACC Tournament win). And the reasons why will be displayed again Tuesday, when Louisville hands SU a blowout loss.

The Cardinals shoot the 3-ball with absurd volume, ranking fourth in the country by taking 3s on 53.4% of their field-goal attempts, and they’re going to have one of their best games from deep against Syracuse. Autry’s zone defense won’t work versus a perimeter-dominant team that also has a 6-foot-11, 250-pound big in Sananda Fru to clean up its messes. Unless the Orange post one of their best defensive showings of the year, they won’t upset Louisville on the road.

The one thing that made me consider the possibility of SU earning a win here is the Cardinals’ recent rough patch. They’ve lost three of their last four games, so the Orange could take advantage of a team that could be down in the dumps.

But then I remembered something: this is Syracuse we’re talking about. Yeah, nevermind.

Justin Girshon (19-10)
Level 2.5 Toughness
Syracuse 76, Louisville 90

Honestly, shoutout to Autry for going on his tangent on Saturday. He’s likely coaching his final few games as the Orange’s head coach, and he’s really not to blame for all of this. Of course, he’s the head coach, which naturally puts all of the blame on him, but he’s also not the one dribbling the basketball anymore.

For a team that preaches level five energy and awards a fighter of the game after every win, you’d expect toughness to be their calling card. At one point, it was. But as the season has gone awry, it’s just become worse and worse. Autry’s team rightfully needed to be called out.

Autry’s decision to finally call his team out shows there’s absolutely zero reason to believe SU will beat Louisville on the road. The Cardinals are one of the best teams in the country, and with how little toughness Syracuse has shown recently, it’d be lucky to get level 2.5 energy in the KFC Yum! Center.

Even without Brown, Louisville is going to absolutely decimate Syracuse’s defense, angering Autry even more. Though this time, I’m not sure there’s much he’ll be able to say to show his frustration.

Published on March 3, 2026 at 12:22 am