Syracuse blown out at Louisville after woeful first half offensive display

The Orange shot themselves out of the game early, hitting just 28 percent from the field in the first half

Mar 3, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Adrian Wooley (14) shoots against Syracuse Orange forward Donnie Freeman (1) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Syracuse played well enough in the opening seven minutes to stay with Louisville, then their offense went in the cooler while their opponents heated up.  The Orange (15-15, 6-11 ACC) shot 3-of-17 over a nearly 13-minute span while the Cardinals (21-9, 10-7) hung a couple impressive runs to blow things open before halftime and cruised to a 77-62 win.

Mikel Brown Jr. missed the game for the Cards, but their shorthanded deck provided more than enough to win.  Without their second-leading scorer, Louisville rained down 14 3-pointers in the game, shooting 40.0 percent from long range while SU missed their first dozen attempts from long range.

Syracuse shot 40.4 percent overall, but just 28.0 percent in the opening half.  That poor marksmanship combined with seven turnovers made it easy for the Cardinal defense, which held them to just 21 first half points.  

After a slow start, the Louisville offense took over

Neither team led by more than two points over the opening seven minutes, but the Cardinals struck for the first run of the game, ripping off 11 straight points in under two minutes to open up a 21-10 lead.  The Orange temporarily stopped the bleeding, but just briefly, as Louisville tacked on a 9-2 run for a 32-16 lead with five minutes left in the opening half.

The hosts did not ease off the gas, tacking on five more points to push their lead to 21 points just under three minutes before the break.  SU was able to shave a few points off the gap and head into the break down, 39-21.

Things did not improve after halftime, as the Cards added a pair of 3-pointers to finish an 8-2 burst to open the second half and take their biggest lead of the night at 47-23.  Syracuse struck back with their best offensive play, running off six quick points to start a 12-4 burst capped by a pair of Nate Kingz 3’s to draw within 51-35.

Syracuse threatened a comeback, but could not sustain their offense after falling into too big a hole

Louisville rebuilt a 22-point lead, but a 9-0 Orange run brought them back within 60-47 at the under-eight media timeout.  SU kept pushing back, trimming the margin to 11 twice, but the Cardinals responded the second time with an 8-2 burst to reinstate a 72-55 lead with just under four minutes to go.

Naithan George struggled with his shot, but paced Syracuse with 16 points, while Kingz added 14 points.  Each tallied a dozen after halftime.  Donnie Freeman hung a double-double of ten points and 11 rebounds.  William Kyle III and Sadiq White Jr. each had eight points with Kyle swatting three shots.

Ryan Conwell led the hosts with 21 points, making five 3-pointers on the night.  J’Vonne Hadley piled up an efficient 19 points, going 7-of-9 from the floor and making all three of his shots from behind the arc.  Isaac McKneely each added 16 points, also connecting on five triples.

SUPPORT THE JUICE ONLINE.

For more discussion on Syracuse athletics, visit our free Syracuse Orange discussion forum.