Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball team takes on the North Carolina at 7 p.m., Monday in the Dean Smith Center.
The game will air on ESPN.
See in-game team and individual stats here.
1/23
Syracuse Orange Basketball 2025-26: Syracuse @ North Carolina
Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game vs. North Carolina to see the latest updates
Final: North Carolina 87, Syracuse 77
Big Monday turned into a big letdown.
In its first national showcase game on ESPN this season, the Syracuse men’s basketball team was outclassed by No. 14 North Carolina, 87-77, in the Dean Smith Center on Monday night.
The Orange made things interesting with a full-court press to close the game but was beaten so thoroughly for most of the night that ESPN labeled a portion of its second half broadcast, “story time with Jay Williams” and Carmelo Anthony expressed his bewilderment with the performance responding to the school’s social media account with “SMFH.”
The Tar Heels led by 14 points at halftime and by as many as 32 points in the second half before taking its foot off the gas late in the game, with Syracuse ending the game on a 35-10 run to miraculously cover the 11.5-point spread.
North Carolina took the lead one minute and 13 seconds into the game and never trailed, as Syracuse seemed outclassed physically from the outset and never seemed like it had a chance to win.
Donnie Freeman led Syracuse with 23 points, while Caleb Wilson had 22 points to lead the Tar Heels.
UNC 87, Syracuse 77, 27.9 seconds left
Syracuse last hope comes to an end as a JJ Starling attempt near the rim rolls off. North Carolina makes two free throws.
Syracuse is going to lose a game that was far worse than the final score indicated.
North Carolina 82, Syracuse 72
Syracuse has pulled itself back within miracle territory with 1:26 remaining as North Carolina is falling apart against a full-court press. The Orange gets a 3-pointer from Nate Kingz to pull within seven and has to foul on the other end with 50.9 seconds left.
North Carolina 80, Syracuse 62
The home crowd is heading for the exits with 3:15 remaining. Caleb Wilson has a game-high 22 points, while Donnie Freeman has 21.
Syracuse insiders are salty
It’s a blowout and the most interesting thing happening is the comments from you guys. Here’s a sampling of what out Syracuse Sports Insiders are saying as Syracuse continues to be blown out by North Carolina.
It’s 76-50 with 6:02 remaining.
You can join the conversation here to get a direct text line to Brent Axe.
Billy H: After this performance, and their schedule the rest of February. I would not be surprised if they lost all their games this month.
Kris K: Turned the game off. Rather do anything than watch this mess. I’d rake some leaves if they weren’t buried by snow.
Matthew W: Autry should stay there. There’s no way this program can go on with him as coach. They have totally lost the fan base. There’s no enthusiasm whatsoever. Nobody watches them anymore. He’s got to stay there
Brian C: This team is a reflection of their coach. Lifeless.
North Carolina 74, Syracuse 45
The game remains terrible lopsided with 7:30 left to play. William Kyle III and Sadiq White Jr. both have four fouls. It doesn’t look like things are going to get any better for Syracuse.
North Carolina 69, Syracuse 40
Syracuse just doesn’t belong on the same court as North Carolina.
The Tar Heels are shooting 54 percent from the floor. Syracuse is down to 36 percent.
Tar Heels rolling in every facet of the game right now.
Donnie Freeman has 18 points. No other Syracuse player in double-digits.
Caleb Wilson leads North Carolina with 19 points with two other players in double-digits.
There’s 11:33 remaining in this brutalizing.
Syracuse insiders sound off at halftime
Here’s a sampling of what out Syracuse Sports Insiders are saying at halftime as Syracuse trails North Carolina, 46-32.
You can join the conversation here to get a direct text line to Brent Axe.
Ben S: It’s like Groundhog Day watching nonstop dribbling iso ball and defensive breakdowns. Fitting because it’s actually Groundhog Day.
Joe R: NC playing very good defense Syracuse not sliding to the ball. 1 on 1 Cuse can’t match up
Erik J: About expected. Was never going to be close. Talent level in different conferences
Thomas T: Turnovers kill us. They short circuit themselves.
Sandra: Team is relying on Donnie too much. No crisp passing like in the ND game. No aggressive offensive. The whole team needs to be involved. Stop with the dribble iso ball!
Halftime: North Carolina 46, Syracuse 32
It’s been all North Carolina and Donnie Freeman in the first half.
The Tar Heels have been the overwhelmingly better team with every starter scoring at least 6 points and a shooting percentage of 53 percent (16-for-30) and a 3-point percentage of 55 percent (6-for-11).
Syracuse seems a step off on every defensive rotation.
Donnie Freeman has 18 points and 7 rebounds on 6-for-9 shooting. After moving the ball exceptionally in its last game, Syracuse has just two assists.
Freeman keeping Syracuse in it
One game after being removed from the Syracuse starting lineup, Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman is putting on a show.
Matched up against projected lottery pick Caleb Wilson, Freeman has 15 points and 7 rebounds. He’s making an array of tough shots over defenders.
Wilson is playing well also with 10 points but getting a lot more help and scoring within a flowing offense.
North Carolina leads Syracuse, 34-29, with 2:42 remaining.
North Carolina opening up on Syracuse
After a defensive battle early, North Carolina finally knocked down a couple of 3-pointers and has taken a 25-14 lead over Syracuse.
UNC 7-footer Henri Veesaar took Will Kyle III to the perimeter on the first one. Not many players can do that and Kyle is going to have a tough time defending that.
The second was a transition 3-pointer after Kiyan Anthony missed a forced 3-pointer.
Donnie Freeman currently has 10 of SU’s 14 points. He seems like the only one that can get a shot off and he’s making a lot of tough ones. This one already feels pretty out of reach.
Two fouls on Sadiq White Jr.
Sadiq White Jr. picks up his second foul with 10:46 remaining in the first half. That’s a rough one for Syracuse in a defensive slog because White does give you that and a lot of energy.
North Carolina leads 17-10 with 10:41 remaining in the first half.
Syracuse just had to use a timeout after being unable to get the ball in after a pair of free throws by Caleb Wilson. Some clear frustration from Donnie Freeman after the play.
Tough sledding for SU offense
Syracuse’s offense continues to be unable to get much going against a more athletic UNC team.
The Orange is just 3-for-11 from the field and two of the makes have been shots by Donnie Freeman that had a really high degree of difficulty.
North Carolina leads 12-9 with 11:29 remaining in the half.
Without the ball movement that carried the Orange against Notre Dame, Syracuse has brought in Kiyan Anthony early today. He does give the Orange a few more options when things bog down into isolation play.
UNC looks taller, faster
North Carolina’s size is making things pretty difficult for the Orange so far.
Syracuse has had a tough time in-bounding the ball and getting into its offense, while North Carolina has a pair of inside baskets.
Tar Heels are shooting 2-for-6, while Syracuse is 1-for-6. Quality of shots seems much higher for UNC.
Tar Heels lead 4-2 with 15:50 left in the first half but the team widely-considered to be more talented looks like it over the first four minutes.
Freeman returns to starting lineup
Syracuse will return to its customary starting lineup against North Carolina with Donnie Freeman making his return after a one-game absence.
The other four remain the same: JJ Starling, Naithan George, Nate Kingz and Will Kyle III.
North Carolina starts Derek Dixon, Jaydon Young, Seth Trimble, Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar.
Pregame
Syracuse faces North Carolina on Monday in a matchup of programs where a portion of the fanbase is dissatisfied with the job their current coach has done replacing a legend.
North Carolina’s Hubert Davis is in his fifth season with the Tar Heels and currently has his team ranked at No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll at 17-4 (5-3 ACC).
Davis has cooled off talk on Tobacco Road slightly with three straight wins following back-to-back losses to California and Stanford.
Still, expectations are always high in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels have been past the first round of the NCAA Tournament once over the past three years.
Syracuse (13-9, 4-5), meanwhile, has missed the NCAA Tournament for four consecutive seasons and is in danger of a fifth straight miss.
Three of those have come under embattled coach Adrian Autry, whose program snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Notre Dame.
As has often been the case with the Tar Heels, North Carolina utilizes twin tower approach
North Carolina is led by freshman big man Caleb Wilson who is averaging nearly a double-double with 20 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. A Top 10 prospect coming into college at 6-foot-10, Wilson is a potential lottery pick in next year’s NBA Draft.
Wilson could probably be a college center at most programs but doesn’t have to with UNC because of the presence of 7-footer Henri Veesar, an Arizona transfer who averages 16.8 points and 9 rebounds.
Syracuse has had a difficult time limiting opponents from securing offensive rebounds this season and this game will likely be an especially difficult test for Donnie Freeman and Will Kyle III.
That size seems to make it likely that Autry will go back to his customary starting lineup with Donnie Freeman playing forward. Freeman came off the bench in favor of Sadiq White during SU’s win over Notre Dame on Saturday, making that decision one to watch.
North Carolina’s top guard is Seth Trimble, a rare four-year player with one college program.