What Adrian Autry said following Syracuse’s 72-59 loss to Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Syracuse dropped its six game in its last seven tries on Saturday, bowing to Virginia, 72-59 on the road.

Here's three major takeaways from the loss.

Anthony gets a DNP-CD

It was an ignominious afternoon for freshman guard Kiyan Anthony.

After stepping on to the court in each of Syracuse’s first 23 games, Anthony stayed glued on the bench during SU’s loss to Virginia, earning his first DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision).

After the game, Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry made it clear Anthony was available to play and wasn’t hurt.

“No, no injury concerns,” Autry said. “There’s no narratives about any of this stuff. I just made the decision. That was my decision I made today.”

Anthony came into the game averaged 8.9 points and 1.6 rebounds across 19.3 minutes per game. He was a spark off the bench in SU’s road loss to North Carolina on Monday, chipping in 10 points, but it was just the second time he had hit double digits in his last eight games.

It comes in the backdrop of his father, the legendary Carmelo Anthony, replying to Syracuse’s Instagram post after Monday’s loss to North Carolina, “SMFH” (shaking my f—ing head”).

Instead of Anthony, Autry turned to lightly used reserve guard Bryce Zephyr, who had one assist, one block and one turnover across eight minutes. Zephyr has only appeared in 16 games this season and is averaging just 5.4 minutes per game.

Syracuse's aggressive defensive style struggles

During Monday’s loss to North Carolina, Syracuse fell behind more than 30 points before rallying late in the second half to ultimately lose, 87-77.

The Orange got back into the game by using a pressuring full court press, which resulted in speeding up the game and creating easy opportunities on offense in transition.

Autry tried a similar tact against the Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon, but to little avail. While Syracuse did try trapping and pressuring the ball, Virginia was nonplussed, at one point going on a 12-0 run in the first half.

The Cavaliers would go on to shoot 41 percent from the field and committed just 10 turnovers in a classic performance of controlling tempo and exercising discipline on offense.

Virginia assisted on 18 of its 26 baskets, showing a willingness to move the ball and find the open shooter. Meanwhile, the Orange’s ball movement issues continued as they assisted on just nine of its 25 baskets.

“It’s disappointing because I thought they really battle defensively today,” Autry said. “Our offense came up short and that was the difference."

George leads the Syracuse attack

Despite trailing by double digits in the second half, the Orange still found themselves in a position to win, down just 61-56 with 6:10 to go.

That was in no small part due to one of Nait George’s best games of the season, where he finished with 19 points and three assists in the loss.

George was aggressive from the tip, and missed just one of his nine shots. But he also led the team with five turnovers, including a critical one with 5:32 left and the Orange trailing by 5.

“I thought the game came down to points off turnovers,” Autry said. “I thought we battled with them for the most part, but in the end, you got to come up with some possessions, and they came up with those."

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