Syracuse’s losing streak extends to three games with loss to Wake Forest

Syracuse was downed by Wake Forest, 88-83, on Saturday night on the road.

It was all Orange until about halfway into the second half tonight. Syracuse took a 4-point lead, 46-42, into halftime after a phenomenal half from beyond the arc. The Orange came out seemingly flat to open the second half but were able to build up a lead of 7, 56-49, in about 5 minutes.

It was a downward spiral from this point on, culminating in a Myles Colvin second chance 3 and Juke Harris 3 from 4-feet beyond the arc on back-to-back possessions to give the Deac’s their first lead of the night with about 10 minutes left in the game.

From this point on, it was the beginning of the end. Syracuse found no offensive rhythm and Wake Forest was getting everything at will on their end of the court. Despite some final minute drama, Wake defended their home court 88-83 on the back of Myles Colvin.

The Orange squandered several opportunities

Syracuse shot an uncharacteristic 48% from 3, and Donnie Freeman and Nate Kingz combined for 48 points on 15-25 from the field. Sadiq White also had a nice 12 points off the bench. Syracuse was unable to make a stand and extend their lead to double digits at any point.

They were unable to take advantage of turnovers from Wake Forest and at times it seemed they would settle for iffy looks way too early in the shot clock.

This inability came back to bite them as the game went on. In retrospect, they coasted on favorable variable shooting and were never able to establish a consistent half-court offensive identity tonight. Wake Forest stayed steady, played the long game, and were able to strike at the right time and carry the game into the final buzzer.

The Orange defense was in disarray all night

Syracuse made sure that scoring phenom Juke Harris did not beat them. In that aspect, they succeeded. But Myles Colvin took this game over. Colvin finished with 32 points on 7-8 from 3, and missed just three shots total. JJ Starling was on the Colvin assignment all night and got lost chasing him around as the night went on.

The SU defensive scheme tonight was to collapse on Harris anytime he drove, switch everything on screens, and gamble in the passing lanes. As mentioned, they stopped Harris, but to the determinant of losing a step on everyone else.

All of this chaotic movement led to miscommunication on defense. As players were a step slow to close out or would get blown by, someone was always open for Wake. To this effect, defensive rebounding was an issue for the Orange as being out of position led to Deacons finding a lot of second chance opportunities.

Donnie Freeman and Nate Kingz were really the only Orange players who brought it tonight, scoring 28 and 20 points respectively. It was a rough night for JJ Starling on both ends, going 1-6 from the field almost invisible on offense.

Colvin lit it up for the Demon Deacons, finishing just one point shy of his career high in points for a single game.

The Orange head to Louisville to take on a Cardinals team that has fallen out of the Top 25 and on a two-game slide. Syracuse, on a three-game losing streak now, faces a hungry and angry Louisville on the road that is looking to make a statement in their final two games. All the Orange have to play for as of now is protecting their seed in the ACC tournament.

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