Syracuse, N.Y. —Syracuse basketball cannot lose to Hofstra.
It just can’t.
No offense to the Pride, who came into the JMA Dome and beat Syracuse 70-69 on Saturday night.
Hofstra was lights out from 3-point range (12-of-18, 66.7%) and played with passion, purpose and, well, pride.
The hard truth is Hofstra may be the only team on the floor in that game that ends up playing in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s only Mid-December and no one is calling the season yet, but this is the kind of loss that exposed some truths the Orange may have trouble swallowing, but is none the less the truth.
1. Adrian Autry’s boat is taking on water
Syracuse Orange head coach Adrian Autry questions an official against the Hofstra Pride at the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Syracuse, NY.
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Saturday’s loss to Hofstra is a moment that moved the needle on the rapidly plunging belief that Autry is the right man for the job as SU’s head coach.
If you previously believe he’s the right guy for the job, you may have shifted to “on the fence” following the loss to Hofstra.
If you were already on the fence, losing to Hofstra may have put you in the “I’m done with this guy” camp.
If you were already on the “done” side of the fence, it only steeled your belief Autry is not long for the gig.
“There were no surprises,” Autry said. “There was nothing that we did not, would not prepare for except our effort, attention to detail and just not executing what we talked about. We’re very disappointed in that. I’m very disappointed in myself and our staff not being able to get the job done.”
When I asked Autry what details got lost in the shuffle, he offered that ”we don’t help out on the ball side. We have certain things we were going to do, we just didn’t execute. You play against a zone, you look down, you get the ball inside. We didn’t do that.”
SU does not run a discernible offense, no matter what defense it faces.
Autry’s mantras of the “Orange Standard” and “Level 5″ are failing to resonate.
Syracuse GM Alex Kline and Autry constructed a roster in the offseason that is undeniably better on paper.
Autry is rapidly running out of time to prove he can convince the SU fan base he can coach it.
“We’ll learn from this,’’ Autry said. “I promise you we will learn from this and we will get better.’’
It’s a hollow promise until it is backed up with results.
2. The officiating was embarrassing 
Syracuse Orange guard Kiyan Anthony (7) is grabbed on the arm with no-call as time runs short against the Hofstra Pride at the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Syracuse, NY.
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Tommy Morrissey, Justin Porterfield and Adam Flore should be embarrassed by what they put out for the world to see on Saturday night.
The two most egregious examples of their ineptitude came in the game’s last minute.
Kiyan Anthony was clearly fouled on a drive to the basket in the game’s final seconds. Hofstra’s Biggie Patterson reached across his body and made contact in attempting swiped at the ball. Anthony flailed his arms, but there was no whistle.
It was a mind-bending missed call described best by Anthony.
“If you ask 1,000 people, was that a foul? I think they will say that’s a foul,’’ Anthony said. “I don’t think it’s a 50-50 call in that situation. That’s what (the referee) tried to tell me. That’s a 50-50 call.
“But when you look at the replay, it’s a clear foul.’’
Carmelo and La La Anthony react after a no call involving their son Kiyan against the Hofstra Pride at the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Syracuse, NY.
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There was an equally perplexing error just seconds earlier when Patterson tried to get the ball to point guard Preston Edmead on a play challenged by Syracuse’s JJ Starling.
The ball sailed out of bounds into the SU bench.
The referee thought Starling had touched the ball. He clearly did not.
Autry asked for a review for what should have provided an easy reversal. The call was not overturned, causing Syracuse to lose its ability to challenge any other calls.
“No, I didn’t,’’ Starling said when asked if he had tipped the ball. “The ball didn’t change direction or trajectory or anything like that.’’
“At the end of the day, we put ourselves in that position,’’ Starling said. “So that loss isn’t on the refs. It’s on what we came to do today, how we weren’t prepared.’’
Starling is right.
It should not have come down to that, the non-call on Anthony or anything the officials did or didn’t call.
That doesn’t change the fact that officiating crew was an utter failure on Saturday night and had an out-sized impact on the outcome.
Autry also failed to send a shot across the bow of the ACC and this crew for its failure.
“I wish I could answer that question,” Autry said when I asked him directly about the impact of the officiating on Saturday’s loss.
Yes you can, Adrian.
Who cares if SU gets a fine for the criticism?
SU AD John Wildhack should have offered to cover any expense there.
There’s no way in Hades former SU head coach Jim Boeheim would have ever let a performance like that go unchecked at a postgame presser.
3. #FreeThrowsMatter
Syracuse Orange forward Sadiq White Jr. (0) shoots a free-throw against the Hofstra Pride at the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Syracuse, NY.
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Syracuse entered Saturday’s game ranked dead-last in the country (365th) in free throw shooting at 56.8%.
The Orange shot 9-of-16 (56.3%) at the charity stripe against the Pride. Those seven points were the missing puzzle piece to victory.
On the season, Syracuse is 126-of-222. That’s 96 points just left in some kind of cruel basketball purgatory.
Free throw shooting is albatross this team is going to wear on its neck until the glaring issue improves and it will cost it more games if it doesn’t improve.
It’s time for Autry to recognize this as a basketball emergency and address it as so because what he and his staff are doing to fix the problem clearly isn’t working.
4. Syracuse needs Donnie Freeman back ASAP
Donnie Freeman dons flashy sneakers and no medical boot as the Orange warm up to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at the JMA Wireless Dome Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Syracuse, NY.
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I want to make this clear.
No one is saying Freeman needs to return if he’s not cleared to do so medically.
That noted, we’re at a crossroads of drawing exactly where that line is.
It’s been nearly a month since Freeman has played in a game for SU with a mysterious foot ailment.
Autry has assured us that Freeman’s injury is not a season-ending situation and he’ll be back in the lineup “soon.”
You’ll have to forgive the eye-rolling on that considering all the “day-to-day” diagnosis Freeman got last year before being eventually being ruled out with a season-ending foot injury that required surgery.
If he’s ready to come back, even at like 80%, SU needs its leading-scorer back. He’s also still SU’s leading free-throw shooter (28-of-36, 77.8%) despite playing in just four games.
SU’s loss to Hofstra only intensifies the need for Freeman to get healthy and get back in the saddle as soon as possible.