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Syracuse returned home to face California on the heels of dropping six of its previous seven games. Under Jim Boeheim, the Orange never lost that many games across a seven-game stretch.

But the Boeheim days are long gone, and the Orange’s season entered Wednesday — the day director of athletics John Wildhack announced his retirement — on life support. Sitting 11th in the ACC’s standings, EvanMiya labels SU as “Not Close” to receiving an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears were a projected No. 13 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology.

Nate Kingz (27), J.J. Starling (21), Donnie Freeman (16), William Kyle III (15), Naithan George (14) and Sadiq White Jr. (10) all scored in double figures for the Orange, but Cal also had five players score in double figures and won the 3-point battle 11-6.

Despite shooting 25-of-42 from the free-throw line, the Orange survived for a much-needed double overtime win.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (14-11, 5-7 ACC) 107-100 double overtime win over Cal (17-8, 5-7 ACC):

Syracuse nabs first OT win

For the third time this season, SU played in overtime. And for the third time in overtime, the Orange fell short.

But for the first time in overtime this season, there was a delay because the power in the JMA Wireless Dome went out.

With the Orange leading 83-82, play resumed around the two and a half minute mark. Chris Bell instantly canned a triple to give the Golden Bears a two-point lead. While Kingz got one back with a free throw, Dai Dai Ames got to the rim for an easy 2.

But the Golden Bears couldn’t hold on. Kingz got downhill for an and-one to tie the score before the Orange forced a stop and J.J. Starling raced down the court for a transition score. The 5-0 run gave SU an 89-87 lead with 39 seconds before Ames turned the ball over.

It forced Cal to foul, and George split his pair before Ames drilled a deep 2 to cut the score to 90-89 with less than 10 seconds remaining. The Golden Bears again fouled, which led Kingz to split a pair before Milos Ilic scored a second-chance 2 at the buzzer to force double overtime, tied 91-91.

Led by Freeman scoring four of his 16 points, Syracuse jumped out to a 96-93 lead through the first two and a half minutes of double overtime. After SU forced a Cal turnover, Kingz buried a corner triple, making the score 99-93.

Though a Freeman transition score gave SU a 102-95 lead with 40 seconds remaining, Ilic instantly answered with a 3 before California fouled George, and he drilled two free throws with 30 seconds left.

Bell cut the deficit by making 2-of-3 from the charity stripe after getting fouled on a 3, but the Golden Bears were forced to foul, and Freeman made both shots with 17.8 seconds remaining.

Following a Bell miss from the corner, the Orange survived for an event-filled double overtime win.

Chris Bell drops 18 points in Syracuse return

After spending three years with the Orange, Bell made his return to the Dome on Wednesday night. The forward entered the game averaging 13.0 points per game while shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc.

While he was announced as a starter for California, SU’s student section booed Bell, who underwent the worst shooting slump of his career during part of last season.

He missed his first two shots — a straightaway 3 and a contested floater — but drilled a triple from the top of the key at the 11:34 mark to tie the score 17-17.

Bell, who finished with one rebound and zero assists, scored his next points about 10 minutes later, when he drew a foul near the rim before cashing in two free throws.

Though Bell missed his first 3 to begin the second half, he drilled a corner triple to give Cal a 42-40 lead at the 16:16 mark. The forward’s next points came after Starling fouled him on a 3-pointer, which led to two made free throws.

While Bell gave the Golden Bears a three-point lead following a John Camden triple, he failed to extend the lead to five after missing two free throws.

Bell attempted a triple less than a minute into overtime, but he made his next one to give Cal a brief lead before his next points came from the charity stripe in double overtime.

Bell finished with 18 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field in the loss.

SU overcomes 3-point deficit

Shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc, Cal entered Wednesday as the 26th-best 3-point shooting team in the country. The Golden Bears are anchored by Bell, Camden, Ames and Justin Pippen, who have all made at least 40 3-pointers while shooting above 35.0% from deep.

Against a Syracuse squad that makes 33.5% of its 3s and has notched double-digit triples in only four games this season, California tried breaking open the 3-point discrepancy early. The Golden Bears’ first five field goals came from beyond the arc, and they made two to take an 8-6 lead at the under-16 timeout.

However, Cal’s next 3 didn’t come until Bell drained his first triple. Trying to keep pace with the Golden Bears, who drained five first-half triples, the Orange went 3-of-16 from beyond the arc in the first half. Despite the abysmal percentage, Syracuse and Cal entered halftime tied 35-35.

While Cal shot 2-of-9 to begin the second half from beyond the arc, Camden (who scored 21 points, shooting 5-of-11 from deep) drilled a deep triple before Bell drew nylon on Cal’s next possession.

For the most part, attempting nine 3s throughout the second half and the overtime periods, SU dialed back its attack from deep. The Orange didn’t have much success, making just three, but George’s triple in the final minute of regulation proved to be one of the biggest shots of the game. And then Kingz had arguably the most pivotal one in double overtime.

Throughout overtime, SU exclusively took its shots from inside the arc. That was until Kingz buried a corner triple, giving the Orange a six-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in double overtime.

Syracuse finished 6-of-25 from deep, while the Golden Bears were 11-of-30.

Kiyan Anthony returns to action after DNP

One of the biggest storylines in college basketball was Kiyan Anthony logging his first game without playing on Saturday against Virginia. Autry said it was a coach’s decision to bench the freshman postgame before reiterating it was strictly a basketball move on Monday.

Against Cal, Anthony checked in alongside Sadiq White Jr. and Akir Souare at the 12:26 mark. He played for nearly 10 consecutive minutes, which at first didn’t entail much offensively. However, he did block a mid-range jumper from Bell.

At the 4:16 mark, Anthony took his first shot, drawing a foul before making two free throws. His only other shot in the first half was a long 3-pointer, which missed the mark.

Anthony reentered at the 8:48 mark in the second half, playing four second-half minutes. One of his best plays in a while came when he received the ball in the corner with an open look. However, he made an extra pass to a wide-open Kingz on the wing, who drilled a triple to give the Orange a 65-62 lead.

That was the last notable thing Anthony did before heading back to the bench for the rest of the game. He finished Wednesday with two points, one assist and one rebound across 14 minutes.

Published on February 11, 2026 at 10:06 pm
Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon