The Orange trimmed a 32-point deficit down to six inside a minute to play, but still lost against the Tar Heels.
The Syracuse University men's basketball team suffered a bizarre 87-77 loss on Monday night against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Orange trailed by as many as 32 in the second half before ultimately getting the game to within six with less than a minute to play.
Unfortunately, the dramatic comeback attempt fell just short and the Orange dropped to 13-10 overall and 4-6 inside Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play. The Tar Heels are 18-4 and 6-3. Syracuse has lost four of its last five games.
Here's what you need to know:
Freeman back to a starting role
After coming off the bench in both the first and second halves against Notre Dame on Saturday, leading scorer Donnie Freeman was back with the first five on Monday. He led the way with 23 points in 35 minutes, going 8-of-14 from the floor. He also pulled down eight rebounds.
Inside the numbers
--Syracuse had four players in double-figures including Freeman, Naithan George (15), JJ Starling (13) and Kiyan Anthony (10).
--The SU bench had 16 points for the night, but Tyler Betsey and Sadiq White Jr. didn't score.
--Caleb Wilson pulled down nine rebounds for the Tar Heels in addition to his team-high 22 points.
--SU shot 45 percent (29-of-65) from the floor, but they were just 6-of-18 (33 percent) from three.
--The Tar Heels were better across the board, shooting 48 percent and 44 percent in those categories.
--SU was out-rebounded by 10 and only had seven total assists vs. 10 turnovers.
What else worked well
Playing 16 minutes, Anthony had 10 points. He was just 3-of-10 shooting, but he was aggressive in getting to the basket and made all four of his free-throw attemps.
Needs improvement
Seven assists on 29 made shots is an exceedingly low number. Ball movement, especially in the half-court, has plagued SU all season and it continued to tonight. Furthermore, William Kyle III had just two points on 1-of-4 shooting. It's harder for him to maneuver with Freeman back on the floor and that's showing somewhat regularly. He has only five league games with double-figure scoring.
Up next
The Orange will take the floor again on Feb. 7 against Virginia, who is ranked No. 18. That will be a noon ET tip and the game will air on ESPN.
Donnie Freeman (Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)Also on campus
--The SU women's basketball team is now 18-4 on the season and 8-3 inside ACC play. They'll be back in action on Thursday night at Boston College. The Orange most recently beat Miami on Sunday afternoon 65-60.
--The No. 2/3 SU men's lacrosse team opened its season on Sunday afternoon against No. 16/17 Boston University at the JMA Wireless Dome. Syracuse, who advanced to the Final Four in 2025, won by a score of 13-6.
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