Syracuse basketball's porous defense in the 2025-26 season hit a new low on Saturday night, as Wake Forest did whatever it wanted on offense in an 88-83 triumph for the Demon Deacons on their home court.
Wake Forest connected on better than 56 percent from both the field as a whole and beyond the arc in turning a four-point, half-time deficit into a five-point triumph, outscoring the Orange, 46-37, after the intermission.
The Demon Deacons (15-14 overall, 6-10 in ACC), not an overly impressive rebounding squad, crushed the 'Cuse on the glass, and Wake Forest also had a sizable advantage in paint points. SU is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and Syracuse basketball has now fallen on four straight occasions to the Demon Deacons, although the Orange still leads their all-time series, 11-6.
Up next, the 'Cuse (15-14 overall, 6-10 in ACC) will travel to No. 24 Louisville on Tuesday, March 3, with the tip-off scheduled for 9:00 pm EST and television coverage on the ACC Network.
Syracuse basketball was awful on defense in a setback at Wake Forest.
Saturday evening's Atlantic Coast Conference clash was a quadrant-one opportunity for the Orange, and the team was looking pretty good in the first half at the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. However, SU simply couldn't contain Wake Forest's offense.
The Demon Deacons connected on 57.9 percent from the field, 56.3 percent from beyond the arc and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line. The Orange, too, was proficient in shooting the ball; SU made 51.9 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from 3-point land and 82.4 percent from the charity stripe.
In various statistical categories, Wake Forest led 16-9 in second-chance points, 21-17 in bench points, 46-20 in paint points, 30-18 in total rebounds, 5-0 in blocks, 6-5 in steals and 19-16 in assists. On the flip side, Syracuse basketball led 17-14 in points off turnovers, 8-7 in fast-break points and 11-8 in turnovers forced.
Four Orange players were stellar in this conference contest, despite the loss. Sophomore Donnie Freeman poured in a career-high 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from downtown.
Junior point guard Naithan George reached 1,000 total points in his college career on Saturday. Against Wake Forest, he had 13 points, 10 assists and just two turnovers. Redshirt senior small forward Nate Kingz tallied 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-9 from long range.
Freshman forward Sadiq White Jr., in just 12 minutes, went 5-of-8 from the field, finishing with 12 points, three rebounds and one steal.