Syracuse basketball's second-half doldrums continued on Saturday afternoon against No. 18 Virginia, as the Orange hung tough against the Cavaliers in the first half and for part of the second half before faltering late in Charlottesville, Va.
The 'Cuse lost by a final score of 72-59 to UVA at the John Paul Jones Arena, and Syracuse basketball is just 1-6 over its last seven Atlantic Coast Conference encounters. The Orange (13-11 overall, 4-7 in ACC) simply cannot put two consistently solid halves together in the 2025-26 season, and more often than not, recently, the 'Cuse has proven dreadful in the second half of its setbacks.
The Cavaliers (20-3 overall, 9-2 in the ACC), eyeing a top-four seed in the conference's regular-season standings, dominated the Orange on the glass and in bench points, among other things. UVA improves to 15-7 in its all-time series with Syracuse basketball. Next up, the 'Cuse will host California on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at the JMA Wireless Dome.
In the first half, the Orange found itself down by as many as 12 points but clawed back to trim its deficit to three points at the break, 38-35. After the intermission, the 'Cuse stayed within striking distance, but Virginia pulled out in front 59-48 with 8:42 to play. Syracuse basketball was only down by four points, at 61-57, with 5:10 remaining, but the Cavaliers dominated in the last few minutes to ultimately prevail by 13 points.
Syracuse basketball is having a disastrous 2025-26 season.
For the game, Virginia made 41.3 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point land and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line. The Orange hit on 49.0 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from long range and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Statistically speaking, the Cavaliers led 38-28 in rebounds, 17-6 in offensive rebounds, 18-9 in assists, 13-10 in turnovers forced, 9-4 in steals, 17-8 in points off turnovers, 17-7 in second-chance points and 29-7 in bench points.
Conversely, the 'Cuse led 22-21 in defensive rebounds, 9-8 in fast-break points and 7-5 in blocks. Both teams had 30 points in the paint. The Cavaliers had seven more 3-point baskets than Syracuse basketball, and that was a huge difference in this affair.
Junior point guard Naithan George scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. He had three assists and five turnovers. Redshirt senior small forward Nate Kingz tallied 13 points on 5-of-11 from the field. He also had five rebounds. Senior shooting guard J.J. Starling chipped in 13 points.
Senior center William Kyle III added six boards and four blocks. Sophomore power forward Donnie Freeman struggled. He went just 2-of-11 from the field and had five points, nine rebounds, four assists and three turnovers.
Freshman shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, who entered Saturday's clash averaging 19.3 minutes and 8.9 points per game, didn't play at all against UVA. Head coach Adrian Autry said Anthony isn't injured, and it was merely his decision not to play him.