Syracuse Basketball: Top takeaways as 'Cuse gets embarrassed by Wake Forest on road

Syracuse basketball went 0-2 this past week in Atlantic Coast Conference road battles, both of which were opportunities for the Orange to boost its post-season resume, which at this point is hurting for some marquee wins.

Against Boston College this past Tuesday night, the 'Cuse held a lead in the first half, before the Eagles went on a massive run to turn a seven-point deficit into a 14-point edge that the Orange couldn't overcome. Syracuse basketball would lose by five points at Boston College.

On Saturday evening, things got really ugly for the Orange (14-8, 5-6 in the ACC) at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons (14-7, 6-4 in the ACC) manhandled the 'Cuse on the boards while shooting better than 60 percent from the field and beyond the arc.

The result: Wake Forest dismantled Syracuse basketball, 99-70, in an embarrassing performance for the Orange inside the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

My key observations and takeaways as Syracuse basketball loses big at Wake Forest.

•Coming into this ACC affair, the Demon Deacons were roughly an 8.5-point better favorite, per FanDuel, and I thought that was a large number. Boy, was I wrong. Wake Forest, it's true, is a good shooting team that is undefeated at home, while the 'Cuse isn't a great road squad. So I figured this would prove a tough game for Syracuse basketball to win. But losing by nearly 30 points is unacceptable. To me, the Orange is at a crossroads. The 'Cuse looked awful on Saturday night. It has three straight home games coming up - against Louisville, Clemson and highly rated North Carolina - and better regroup fast.

•Sophomore guard J.J. Starling continued his string of strong performances, leading Syracuse basketball with 15 points. Sophomore point guard Judah Mintz chipped in 13 points but didn't get to the free-throw line much, a place where he usually thrives. He was 2-of-5 from the charity stripe.

•Sophomore wing Justin Taylor had a nice second half and finished with 10 points. Sophomore wing Quadir Copeland tallied 11 points while sophomore forward Chris Bell notched eight points but went 0-5 from deep. Sophomore forward Benny Williams had seven points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal.

•As a collective unit, Syracuse basketball hit on just 40 percent from the field, 26 percent from 3-point land and 68 percent from the free-throw line. That's horrendous. Conversely, Wake Forest connected on 66 percent from the field, 63 percent from beyond the arc and 71 percent from the charity stripe.

•The Demon Deacons prevailed on the boards, 36-23, along with 40-26 in paint points, 22-17 in fast-break points, 2-1 in blocks, and 16-12 in assists. On the flip side, the Orange led 14-10 in turnovers forced, 21-12 in points off turnovers, 11-9 in second-chance points, 22-17 in bench points, and 8-5 in steals.

Next up, Syracuse basketball returns to the JMA Wireless Dome to square off with Louisville (7-15, 2-9 in the ACC) on Wednesday, Feb. 7. The tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm, and the ACC Network will air this league contest.