Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse’s 2024-25 season is already its worst on record. Across its 46 years belonging to a conference, SU had never recorded as many losses in conference play than it did this season.

The Orange have a 1-15 record in games against Quad 1 and Quad 2 teams. Syracuse’s best win of the year came against Georgia Tech, which finished at .500 in the conference and 16-15 overall.

Despite all of this, the Orange still managed to qualify for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament next week in Charlotte. Before making the trek to North Carolina to face Florida State, Syracuse capped its regular season with a 14-point win over Virginia. The Orange led wire-to-wire and sealed the deal in the second half despite previous collapses.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (13-18, 7-13 Atlantic Coast) 84-70 win over Virginia (15-16, 8-12 Atlantic Coast) Saturday in the regular-season finale:

Feed the bigs

Any offensive success throughout the day for Syracuse began with guard Jaquan Carlos feeding Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Jyáre Davis down low. SU’s big men have been key all season to carving out offense. Saturday, the two combined for 15 of the Orange’s first 17 points, allowing SU to jump out to a 17-10 lead nine minutes in.

The Cavaliers had no answer for Lampkin down low, as he maneuvered inside with ease via brute strength. When Lampkin entered back into the game late in the first, he immediately put his right shoulder into forward Blake Buchanan for an easy layup. The next possession, Lampkin worked along the right baseline and flipped it inside to Davis. The Delaware transfer drove inside, spun backward and flipped a shot off the front of the rim and in.

Lampkin and Davis were the only scorers to reach double digits in the first 20 minutes, as the Colorado transfer scored a game-high 14 and Davis tallied 10 to pair. Lampkin picked up where he left off in the second half with Isaac McKneely draped all over him, finishing plus the foul.

He continuously was reliable inside, even when the Cavaliers switched to a 2-3 zone to stifle the passing lanes. Mixed with Naheem McLeod’s five points, SU’s three big men combined for 45 points, making up 54% of the Orange’s scoring.

Stopping the 3

While the Cavaliers entered with the worst offense in the ACC by a wide margin, their strength still lied beyond the arc. UVA entered shooting 38% from 3, the fourth-best mark in the conference. To halt Virginia, SU needed to stop any momentum from deep. The Orange suffocated the Cavaliers, allowing them to shoot 20% from deep with just three made 3s.

Syracuse got out to a lead as large as 19 in the first half, propelled by the Cavaliers’ 0-for-6 start from deep. UVA leading scorer McKneely came into the game at a lethal 41.7% from beyond the arc but started 0-for-4. To get the Cavaliers off-kilter, SU often closed off deep shots, allowing Virginia to get to work in the midrange.

Virginia didn’t tally its first 3 until under five minutes left in the first half, when Dai Dai Ames converted a 3-pointer to cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to 31-19. UVA’s 1-for-8 first half from deep put Syracuse ahead 17, tied for its largest halftime lead of the season.

The Cavaliers’ misfortunes from deep continued into the second frame, rarely attempting to shoot from 3 and instead putting the ball on the floor to drive to the basket. UVA has turned in poor shooting days before, leading to poor overall outings. A 4-for-26 day from deep against SMU resulted in just 52 points. Against the Orange, however, it was nearly as bad.

Bringing the energy

As the Orange built an early lead, their defense was the catalyst. Out of the gate, SU forced two turnovers through the first four minutes. Carlos went to the ground to force the ball away from Ames, turning it into a layup for Lampkin on the other end.

SU continued to limit the Cavaliers, with McKneely turning it over three times. Even when the Orange didn’t get the whistle to go their way, they showed intensity. Kyle Cuffe Jr. jumped with a Virginia player and ripped the ball out while flipping on his back. But the referees called a foul.

Later in the first half, Davis shouldered into freshman Jacob Cofie, making him stumble and fall to the floor before giving the ball up. SU allowed just 26 points in the first half as UVA failed to convert from 3 and the Orange forced seven turnovers. Syracuse made the most of the giveaways, too, notching 12 points off them in the first half. UVA’s offense carved into SU to start the second half with 11 quick points, penetrating inside and forcing the Orange into foul trouble.

Already up 18 nearly midway through the second half, Lampkin stole the ball from Andrew Rohde, dished to Carlos in transition and finished with an acrobatic layup. SU forced 12 turnovers overall, holding the Cavaliers to 70 points.

Turning the corner?

The story of SU’s last few losses have been largely the same: start out hot to gain a double-digit lead in the first half, then blow it in the second half in the most embarrassing fashion possible. Versus UVA, the first portion was similar. The Orange jumped out to a lead as large as 19 in the first half. This time, SU finished the deal.

It didn’t happen without a little scare. The Cavaliers built multiple mini-runs over the final 15 minutes to slowly cut into the deficit. But Syracuse kept them at enough of a distance through Lampkin’s play and 10 points from Lucas Taylor in the second half.

The Orange gave UVA chances to score with their fouls, and the Cavaliers chipped away at the line. SU also had a few careless turnovers, failing to get a clean inbound and allowing Rohde to score after stripping it from SU’s J.J. Starling under the basket.

Still, the Orange controlled the pace through the final minutes, never allowing their lead to dip below double digits.

Published on March 8, 2025 at 10:12 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky