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Wins over California and SMU briefly injected Syracuse with hope. But that’s been thrown in the gutter following its 101-64 loss to Duke — the worst loss of the Adrian Autry era — and a 77-64 home loss to a Caleb Wilson-less North Carolina. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Orange’s hopes of receiving an at-large NCAA Tournament bid are all but dead.

However, SU still has a path to its first March Madness appearance since 2021. But that would be by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

For now, all Syracuse can do is position itself for the highest seed possible for when it arrives in Charlotte. That would begin with a road win over Wake Forest, which sits just behind the Orange in the ACC’s standings. SU currently is 12th in the conference, while the Demon Deacons are 13th.

Here’s how our beat writers predict Syracuse (15-13, 6-9 ACC) will fare against Wake Forest (14-14, 5-10 ACC) Saturday:

Aiden Stepansky (22-6)
Road trip blues
Syracuse 77, Wake Forest 79

Syracuse’s road record over the last two seasons is 4-14. Wake Forest is 23-9 at the LJVM Coliseum. In a matchup between two below-average ACC teams, I’ll make my decision based on the facts. Give me the Demon Deacons in a close one.

While a full week of rest and avoiding a powerhouse like Duke or North Carolina will do the Orange major favors, they’re still an unimpressive team. SU’s defense, which looked the part of one of the best in the country early on, has quickly evaporated. It now rests in the bottom half of the conference and has allowed 75 or more points in all but two of its last 10 games.

Juke Harris will certainly cause issues for Syracuse’s faulty defensive unit. If the Orange attempt to gain some offensive momentum, their recent poor stretch from deep will leave them just a step behind.

Of course, like most ACC games, this is winnable and should come down to the final minutes. But this team is mentally defeated at this point. Another road test just before a possible slaughter in Louisville will be just another chapter in this soon-to-be-closed book.

Cooper Andrews (21-7)
The Battle of Mid
Syracuse 70, Wake Forest 75

Not to keep beating a dead drum, but it remains startling to see a once-proud Syracuse program rapidly fade into irrelevancy. In the not-too-distant past, late-February games meant a chance for the Orange to refine themselves before entering postseason play — a stage the world expected them to be on. But on Saturday, SU’s contest with Wake Forest is more about its fight to stay floating above a .500 record. What the hell happened to Syracuse basketball?

Win or lose, this game won’t alter the Orange’s chances at making March Madness, which is already a nearly impossible feat. And in this battle of pure middle-of-the-road programs, the Demon Deacons will come out on top, serving as another indictment for Autry and Co. in a disappointing third year.

First of all, I think Syracuse will have trouble stopping Harris. But even worse, its own guards will struggle to match his production. J.J. Starling posted a season-high 22 points last game versus North Carolina, a potential sign of a late-year surge for the senior, but I don’t see that happening two games in a row. Especially against a Demon Deacons team that’s pesky on defense, stealing the ball on 11.8% of possessions, per KenPom.

Turnovers often bite this Orange squad, and I see that problem resurfacing once again this weekend. Their interior defense should keep them close, but that won’t offset another inconsistent offensive performance.

Justin Girshon (19-9)
No apologies needed
Syracuse 65, Wake Forest 64

The last time the Orange ventured down to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest, it was one of the program’s worst performances under Autry. SU lost 99-70, in a performance so bad that the then-first-year head coach began his postgame opening statement with one of the most eye-raising things he’s said since taking over for Jim Boeheim.

“I would like to apologize to our fans, to our university for that performance,” Autry said. “Unacceptable. Won’t be tolerated. Won’t allow it.”

Unfortunately for Autry, SU has had more bleak performances like that over the last couple of years. While Syracuse netted its second Quad 1 win this season — after its win against SMU got upgraded from Quad 2 to 1 — that won’t really do much in the grand scheme of things. But at least Autry won’t have to apologize on Saturday.

The Demon Deacons are a one-man show led by Harris, so as long as the Orange can throw him off his game, this is a very realistic game to win. It might not be pretty, and it’ll likely come down to the final minutes, but SU will inject itself with a little bit of confidence to close the regular season strong with a win over Wake Forest.

Published on February 26, 2026 at 1:47 am