What to know before Syracuse battles Louisville amid 3-game skid
Syracuse is amid its third three-game losing streak, but its next opponent, Louisville, has lost three of its last four. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There’s not much left to say at this point. Syracuse is plummeting. Its most recent defeat, an 88-83 loss at Wake Forest Saturday, marked the third time this season SU lost at least three straight games.
Orange head coach Adrian Autry lambasted his team postgame, saying his players are not tough enough and, at times, don’t care about playing defense. They only have two more regular-season games to turn things around before the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, beginning on the road against Louisville, which is helmed by second-year head coach Pat Kelsey.
Here’s everything to know before Syracuse (15-14, 6-10 ACC) squares off versus Louisville (20-9, 9-7 ACC) Tuesday in the KFC Yum! Center:
All-time series
Louisville leads 20-14.
Last time they played …
The Orange were demolished by the Cardinals 85-61 last season on Jan. 14 in the JMA Wireless Dome. Louisville had five scorers in double figures, led by Chucky Hepburn’s 24 points, while Syracuse committed 14 turnovers and shot 24-for-60 from the field.
Outside of four made 3-pointers by former SU guard Chris Bell — who since transferred to Cal — there were few bright spots for the Orange. The blowout loss was one of many signs Syracuse wouldn’t make March Madness in 2024-25; it finished with a 14-19 record.
KenPom odds
Syracuse has a 10% chance of winning, with a projected score of 86-72.
The Cardinals report
Kelsey’s Cardinals have undergone an interesting 2025-26 campaign. Hyped to be in the ACC’s upper-echelon preseason, Louisville can’t seem to get it done in big moments this year. Its narrow loss to Clemson Saturday moved its record against KenPom top-40 teams to just 2-8.
However, the Cardinals take care of business against teams that lie in the middle of the pack.
Ironically, KenPom is very fond of Louisville. Despite being 20-9, the site ranks the Cardinals as the 19th-best team in Division I. They’re extremely well-balanced, grading out as the 17th-most efficient offense in the country and 27th-most efficient defense. They don’t miss bunnies — converting on 59.8% of 2-pointers, ninth-best in the nation — and hold opposing teams under 50% shooting.
Louisville’s ship is steered by its top two scorers, guards Ryan Conwell and Mikel Brown Jr., who both drop more than 18 points per game. But, Brown will miss Tuesday’s clash, per the ACC Injury Report. On the other side, center Sananda Fru stands at 6-foot-11, 250 pounds and grabs 6.4 rebounds a contest while leading the team with 42 blocks in 29 games.
According to EvanMiya, Fru’s 2.77 defensive performance rating (DBPR) paces the Cardinals and is higher than anybody on Syracuse.
Ilyan Sarech | Design Editor
How Syracuse beats Louisville
Divine intervention may have to step in to lift the Orange over the Cardinals. Unless that happens, Syracuse’s chances to upset Louisville are pretty slim.
The only way SU delivers a shocking victory is if it proves Autry wrong: It needs to take over on the defensive end. Autry directly called out his players’ effort a few days ago. And they’ll need to answer his call with a similar performance to when the Orange stunned then-No. 13 Tennessee 62-60 back on Dec. 2 — when William Kyle III smacked six blocks in Syracuse’s best defensive outing of the season.
The Orange must return to their formerly gritty ways to beat the Cardinals. Dive for every loose ball. Box out. Run ragged in transition. Will they? Who knows. But that needs to be the formula.
Stat to know: 41.2
Louisville scores more points off 3s than 2s. Its 3-point scoring rate sits at 41.2%, the 11th-highest in the country, according to KenPom.
Plus, 53.4% of the Cardinals’ field-goal attempts are 3s versus 2s, which is the fourth-greatest disparity in the nation.
Against a Syracuse team that just allowed Wake Forest guard Myles Colvin to splash 7-of-8 shots from beyond the arc, Louisville will certainly try to live on the perimeter once again.
Player to watch: Ryan Conwell, guard, No. 3
Despite Mike Brown Jr. stealing the spotlight as one of the marquee freshmen in D-I, Conwell has been a more consistent presence for the Cardinals. In 28 games played, Brown leads the team with 18.4 points per game, ranks fourth in rebounds (4.8 boards per game) and drains 35% of his 3-point attempts. He’ll be a handful for Syracuse Saturday, and may prove to be a huge problem against its 2-3 zone.
