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According to Donnie Freeman, this is the most important week of Syracuse’s season. First, the Orange head to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to face No. 14 UNC Monday night. Then, they trek to Charlottesville, Virginia, for a battle against No. 17 UVA Saturday afternoon. Two away games; two chances for Quad 1 wins.

After SU’s win over Notre Dame, Freeman said these next two contests could make or break the Orange’s season. Will they complete a turnaround, or fade into the ether? Right now, third-year head coach Adrian Autry’s squad ranks 73rd in the NET Rankings — which would be insufficient for NCAA Tournament qualification.

With nine regular-season games left, Syracuse will begin a difficult month of February against head coach Hubert Davis’ Tar Heels, who rattled off three consecutive wins to end January, including one over Virginia. Here’s how our beat writers think SU (13-9, 4-5 Atlantic Coast) will fare versus No. 14 North Carolina (17-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast):

Aiden Stepansky (16-6)
Right back down
Syracuse 76, North Carolina 84

Syracuse’s win over Notre Dame on Saturday was a valiant effort. The Orange produced a complete performance with 49 combined points from Nate Kingz and J.J. Starling and strong defense. But beating the Fighting Irish at home, without their best player, is a much different animal than a loaded North Carolina squad on the road.

Davis and the Tar Heels always face their fair share of criticism, but the reality is they’re once again a potent team in the ACC. UNC is 3-0 at home in conference play and winners of its last three by a plus-43 margin. Its offense has dropped at least 78 points in every ACC game thus far, and Caleb Wilson’s near double-double average makes the freshman a true problem.

Syracuse’s use of Freeman off the bench was categorized as strategic, and it’s likely due to Freeman’s poor defense. The Orange’s once-potent defense has collapsed since his return to action, sacrificing for a slightly better offense. It’s unclear whether Freeman will continue off the bench, but either way, the Tar Heels will be too much to handle.

I could see Syracuse sticking around for 36 minutes in this one to give an upset scare and make things competitive. Yet the reality is that, in a road environment of this nature, the Orange aren’t currently equipped to pull out a win like this.

Cooper Andrews (16-6)
Dean Dome > JMA Dome
Syracuse 68, North Carolina 80

I got proved wrong last game when the Orange’s drought did not continue as I thought it would. Hand up: I severely doubted Autry’s decision to put Freeman on the bench to start Saturday’s contest against Notre Dame. “What are they doing?” Justin and I said to each other on press row. Yet, based on Syracuse’s 14-point margin of victory over ND, benching the team’s best player clearly was all SU needed to overcome its weeks of porous, inconsistent play. Right?

Wrong. The Orange will plummet back to reality this week, starting with a loss in Chapel Hill and ending with another loss in Charlottesville.

At the end of the day, Syracuse’s win over Notre Dame should be taken with a grain of salt. The Fighting Irish haven’t had their best guy, Markus Burton, for most of the season. And without Starling (21 points, 7-for-7 first-half shooting) and Kingz (28 points, five made 3-pointers) having complete outlier performances, SU could have come close to losing that game.

Benching Freeman worked, I guess, but it was likely an inconsequential move. Notre Dame wasn’t a team Syracuse needed to overthink. However, UNC is a team Autry and Co. will need to dissect in order to beat. The Tar Heels, led by the 6-foot-10 stud in Wilson, are the 18th-most efficient offense in the nation, per KenPom, and their defense is the fifth-best at defending shots inside the arc, holding opponents to a measly 43.8% 2-point shooting percentage.

That spells doom for SU, considering it’s unlikely the Orange will replicate their 10-for-25 3-point performance from over the weekend. And if they really benched Freeman for defense, then who do they expect to stop Wilson?

Justin Girshon (15-7)
Close but no cigar
Syracuse 77, North Carolina 82

To start this off, I want to give some credit where credit is due: Autry’s roll of the dice worked to perfection against Notre Dame. Limiting Freeman and Kiyan Anthony’s minutes improved the Orange’s defense while the offense simultaneously registered a season-high 21 assists.

I’d expect Autry to continue limiting Anthony’s minutes, though I do expect to see Freeman return to the starting five and get back to his normal workload — because, against a team like UNC, you need your best player on the court. Especially with how much length the Tar Heels have in Wilson and Henri Veesaar, Freeman’s size will be necessary to have on the court, and I envision him playing a lot closer to how he did against NC State than the Fighting Irish.

If Freeman is clicking, Kingz can knock down some 3s and Naithan George has another turnover-free performance, SU can absolutely hang with North Carolina. However, especially in Chapel Hill, it’s hard to bet against the Tar Heels, even though they’ve had their ups and downs.

Like Aiden, I see this being competitive down the stretch. But in the end, the Orange will fall a few points short of notching a much-needed upset Quad 1 win.

Published on February 1, 2026 at 9:10 pm