Student Press Freedom Day is a reminder of the vital role student journalists play in holding institutions accountable. The money raised between now and March 6 will go directly toward supporting our independent newsroom. Donate today.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — On the night of Adrian Autry’s 54th birthday, it’s safe to infer that Syracuse’s head coach wished for a win over Wake Forest after blowing out his candles.

Still, amid a 2025-26 campaign that’s been quite cruel to Autry, he didn’t get his birthday wish.

In a contest where the Orange and Demon Deacons unloaded a combined 42 3-point shot attempts, SU finished a step behind WF, falling by just five points. Though Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman tallied 28 points and guard Nate Kingz added a 20-piece, that wasn’t enough to offset the Orange’s wretched defensive performance. Demon Deacons guard Myles Colvin dropped a game-high 32 points on seven made 3s, destroying SU’s defense from wire-to-wire.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (15-14, 6-10 ACC) 88-83 loss to Wake Forest (15-14, 6-10 ACC) Saturday in the LJVM Coliseum:

SU’s 3-point barrage

Given that Saturday’s affair was a full week after SU’s previous contest, a 13-point loss to then-No. 16 North Carolina, it was reasonable to assume the Orange would be rusty out of the gate. That wasn’t the case.

Syracuse came out swinging — it took eight 3-pointers across the first eight minutes and splashed four of them. For a team that isn’t keen from beyond the arc, the Orange were certainly committed to the 3-ball against the Demon Deacons, finishing with a 50% clip on 26 attempts.

Their offense revolved around dribble penetrations, and if the layup wasn’t there, they’d kick it out to the perimeter. Nate Kingz and Donnie Freeman were the primary beneficiaries of this, each knocking down two 3-pointers by the game’s first media timeout. Kingz canned his third 3 of the game near the 9:00-mark of the first half, which extended SU’s lead to 21-16 at the time.

Even freshman forward Sadiq White Jr. joined the party midway through the first half, splashing a 3 to put Syracuse ahead 24-16 — its largest first-half lead. A few minutes later, White tallied another long-range make after Wake Forest had pulled within one point.

The Orange kept firing away from 3, totaling 18 attempts by halftime. Freeman (4-for-7) and Kingz (5-for-9) delivered the team’s best 3-point shooting performances.

Cleaning the glass … or not?

Wake Forest averages the fewest rebounds among ACC teams, hauling in just 33 per game. Syracuse isn’t much better, ranking 14th of 18 ACC schools with 34.8 per game. However, you just can’t get outrebounded by the conference’s worst glass-cleaning team. That would be a brutal indictment. But for the Orange, it was reality.

Syracuse got outrebounded 30-18. The Demon Deacons rallied for 16 second-chance points compared to the Orange’s nine.

A major reason for the disparity was that SU’s top rebounder, 6-foot-9 center William Kyle III, went through foul trouble in the opening half. He only grabbed one board in the first 20 minutes and didn’t tally a rebound in the second half.

But there were times where WF’s second-chance buckets hindered the Orange. With five minutes before halftime, Demon Deacons guard Isaac Carr missed a short-jumper in the paint, though he pulled down his own rebound. Carr passed it out to the right corner for a wide-open Myles Colvin, who drilled a 3-pointer that knotted the score at 29-29.

The second half featured a similar story. Syracuse once failed to grab two straight defensive rebounds on a Wake Forest possession while it led 56-54. Though the Demon Deacons couldn’t capitalize, the Orange’s inability to haul in a board could have allowed WF to tie the game.

While Wake Forest went on its late-game run to take control, it outrebounded Syracuse 11-5 over the first 12 minutes of the second half.

Juked-out

Wake Forest’s star sophomore, Juke Harris, is a handful night in and night out. The 6-foot-7, shot-creating guard entered Saturday averaging 21.7 points per game — the 11th-best mark in the country.

But the Orange’s 2-3 zone defense flustered Harris a bit. He finished with pedestrian numbers; 13 points on 4-for-15 shooting.

When needed, Syracuse’s guards contested Harris’ shots with tenacity and kept him from creating too much space for himself. It seemed like the opposite would be the case early on, when Harris spun away from Freeman to give himself a wide-open jumper from the free-throw line that he cashed. But Harris finished the opening half 2-for-9 from the floor.

His top moment versus Syracuse came midway through the second half, when he converted a go-ahead 3-pointer that gave WF a 64-62 advantage.

Though Harris’ night proved quieter than normal, SU’s defensive attention toward him freed up his fellow guard, Colvin, who detonated for 32 points on an absurd 7-for-8 3-point shooting tally.

Sadiq’s spark

In addition to White’s aforementioned 3-pointers, the highly-touted freshman provided a necessary spark on defense and with some awe-inducing plays at the rim.

None were greater than what White put on display at the 5:58 mark in the first half. After SU’s Tyler Betsey missed a corner 3, White charged in from the opposite corner, grabbed the rebound with one hand in midair and finished a putback, tomahawk jam. The highlight-reel play gave Syracuse a 29-26 lead.

Fast forward to midway through the second half, SU point guard Naithan George tossed an alley-oop up for a soaring White, who threw the ensuing dunk down with two hands. His second slam of the night put the Orange ahead 60-56 at the moment.

White played just six first-half minutes, but made the most of them, scoring eight points and grabbing three boards — which was tied for a team-high by halftime. White finished with 12 points in 12 minutes.

White’s freshman campaign has been a struggle here and there. He’s experienced immense foul trouble in a heavy portion of games, and has seen his minutes progressively get lower. Yet he’s made up for it by showing flashes of his top-notch athleticism, which he did again Saturday.

An epic collapse

This was anyone’s game at the midpoint of the second half. Both teams trading 3 after 3; Freeman’s offensive volume going toe-to-toe with Colvin’s; two squads fighting to stay in the ACC Tournament picture.

But in crunch time, the Orange showed their true colors. They had an epic collapse.

Syracuse allowed Wake Forest to score on 13-of-14 possessions from the 12:20 mark all the way until there was 2:54 left in the game — when WF’s five-second violation on an inbounds pass ended its streak (of course, it scored on the possession after).

Think about how insane that is. For a nearly 10-minute-long stretch, the Orange could not get a single stop on defense.

This is a group that’s prided itself on defense all season under Autry’s mantra of “level five energy.” However, when all that stood between Syracuse and a road victory was a floundering Wake Forest team, SU couldn’t perform to its identity.

Published on February 28, 2026 at 8:08 pm
Contact Cooper: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews