CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — The 2025-26 campaign for the Syracuse Orange (15-17, 6-13) is officially over after the team suffered an early elimination in the first round of the ACC tournament. No. 14 Syracuse lost 86-69 to the No. 11 SMU Mustangs (20-12, 9-10) Tuesday afternoon.
This result caps a disappointing year for the Orange, who will miss the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive year. It is also the first time in more than 55 years that the program has ended with a losing record in consecutive seasons.
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The two teams traded leads throughout the first half, but a major run by the Mustangs saw the Orange trail by as many as 21 points midway through the second half. Syracuse only managed to come within 10 of this significant deficit.
The Orange had a solid performance from their bench (24-0 advantage) and dominated the Mustangs 16-2 in transition. But SMU’s starters scored all of the team’s points, while the Mustangs completely dominated against the Orange on the offensive glass and in second-chance points.
Nate Kingz scored a team-high 25 points on 11/18 shooting for Syracuse. Tyler Betsey scored 15 points (5/8 from three) coming off the bench. Naithan George had 6 assists and 11 assists, while JJ Starling and Donnie Freeman combined for just 9 points on 4/15 shooting in the game.
SMU was led by Boopie Miller (25 points) and Jaron Pierre Jr. (21 points). Jaden Toombs and Samet Yigitoglu also finished with double-doubles for the Mustangs.
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Kingz earned the first points of the contest after connecting on a corner three off a pass from George. Kingz would get off to a hot start for Syracuse, scoring seven of the Orange’s first 10 points, which also included a steal and layup in transition to give the Orange a 10-8 lead.
Both teams shot a combined 2/10, but SMU’s offense started to click in the minutes leading up to the first media timeout. Miller made three straight field goals, capping a run in which the Mustangs scored four straight field goals. Another bucket, this time from Toombs, capped an 8-0 SMU run before Donnie Freeman answered with his first points on a mid-range jumper over Toombs.
Syracuse soon after forced an early Mustangs timeout after Yigitoglu missed a shot on Freeman. One possession later, Betsey got the first points off the Orange bench to knot the game at 16-16 with less than 13 minutes left in the half. Shortly after, George again found Kingz open for a triple from the wing to cap a 9-0 run.
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After a three-minute drought, the Mustangs got some offense going thanks to a tough score by Toombs and a perimeter run by Miller. During that stretch, Syracuse went about four minutes without a score until Akir Souaré knocked the ball in on an alley-oop pass from Starling.
Heading into the final media timeout, the Orange would trail by as many as six (29-23), with SMU continuing to break down the offensive glass and break the ‘Cuse zone 2-3, especially with Toombs forcing his way into the top paint. The transition offense continued to keep Syracuse at bay late in the first half.
George notched another pair of assists in transition, first finding Kingz for an open layup, then William Kyle who slammed it over Toombs. On Syracuse’s next possession, Betsey found the back of the net from the top of the key to bring the Orange within one (31-30).
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Each team continued to trade baskets in the final four minutes of the half, with Syracuse scoring six of its final eight and SMU scoring four in a row. The barrage of goals ended with a 39-38 loss for the Orange before heading into the locker room.
Kingz’ had 17 in the first half on 7/11 shooting, while Betsey had 9 (all from three) and George had 5 points and 6 assists. Toombs (14 points and 10 rebounds), Miller (11 points, 3/6 from three) and Yigitoglu (8 points and 6 rebounds) led the way for SMU.
The Mustangs held big advantages on the glass (13-5 in offensive rebounds and +10 in overall rebounds), in points in the paint (28-12) and in second chance points (15-3), while the Orange led 9-0 in fast break points and held SMU to 3/17 from three (all makes coming from Miller) heading into the second half.
SMU would come out of halftime with the advantage over Syracuse. The Orange were outscored 12-4 in the first five minutes of the quarter. Corey Washington opened things up with two floaters. SMU would then make four of its next five shots, including two more threes from Miller.
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A score on an offensive rebound by Yigitoglu led Syracuse to fall behind by nine (51-42) and force a timeout.
SMU would go up by 10 after jumpers from Washington and Miller before Sadiq White Jr. responded with this cut and alley-oop slam on George’s pass.
That said, the second half was SMU’s to take and for good.
Through the first 12 minutes, the Orange managed just 10 points and were outscored by 19 points. During this span, SMU would go on a 13-0 run primarily thanks to Pierre Jr.
Kingz scored twice, once on a fading mid-range jumper from the baseline and again on an offensive rebound. After that, Pierre Jr. – who started 0/8 in the game from downtown – made three of his next four from the perimeter. His burst of goals allowed the Orange to go from eight points to suddenly trailing by 21 points (69-48).
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After Kingz and Freeman converted on back-to-back buckets, Pierre Jr. drilled another three over White Jr. to keep SMU up 20 with seven to play.
Syracuse would cut the deficit in half on a quick 8-0 run thanks to back-to-back threes from Betsey and another jam from White Jr. A triple from Freeman brought the Orange within 10 with three minutes remaining, but unlike last time for the Mustangs, it was too big a deficit to overcome.
And this is how the 2025-26 campaign is officially over for Orange. Now comes an offseason filled with uncertainty and many important decisions to make.
