CHARLOTTE, NC — The 2025-26 campaign for the Syracuse Orange (15-17, 6-13) is officially over after the team suffered an early First Round exit in the ACC Tournament. No. 14 Syracuse lost 86-69 to the No. 11 SMU Mustangs (20-12, 9-10) on Tuesday afternoon.
The result caps off a disappointing year for the Orange, who will miss the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row. It’s also the first time in over 55 years the program is ending with a losing record in back-to-back seasons.
Both sides traded
the lead throughout the first half, but a major run by the Mustangs saw the Orange trail as much as 21 points by the middle of the second half. Syracuse only managed to get within 10 from that large deficit.
The Orange had a strong performance from its bench (24-0 advantage) and outscored the Mustangs 16-2 in transition. But, SMU’s starters scored all of the team’s points, while the Mustangs totally dominated against the Orange on the offensive glass and in second-chance points.
Nate Kingz had a team-high 25 points on 11/18 shooting for Syracuse. Tyler Betsey chipped in 15 points (5/8 from three) off the bench. Naithan George had 6 assists and 11 assists, while J.J. 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 ended with double-doubles for the Mustangs.
Kingz got the first points of the contest after connecting on a corner three off a pass from George. Kingz would have the hot start for Syracuse, scoring seven of the Orange’s first 10 points, which also included a steal and layup in transition to put the Orange up 10-8 early.
Both teams shot a combined 2/10 out of the gate, but SMU’s offense started to click in the minutes leading up to the first media timeout. Miller drilled back-to-back threes, capping off a run where the Mustangs scored four straight baskets. Another bucket, this time by Toombs, capped off an 8-0 SMU run before Donnie Freeman responded with his first points off a mid-range jumper over Toombs.
Syracuse soon after forced an early timeout from the Mustangs after Yigitoglu missed a shot over Freeman. One possession later, Betsey had the first points off the Orange bench to knot the game at 16-16 with under 13 minutes left in the half. Shortly after, George again found Kingz open for a triple from the wing to cap off a 9-0 run.
After a three-minute scoring drought, the Mustangs got some offense thanks to a tough score by Toombs and a perimeter make by Miller. During this stretch, Syracuse would go around four minutes without points until Akir Souare slammed the ball down off an alley-oop pass from Starling.
Heading into the final media timeout, the Orange would trail as much as six (29-23) with SMU continuing to crash the offensive glass and breaking down the ‘Cuse 2-3 zone, especially with Toombs having his way in the upper-paint. Transition offense continued to keep Syracuse within distance as the first half came to an end.
George notched another pair of assists in transitions, first finding Kingz for an open layup, then William Kyle who slammed it down over Toombs. On Syracuse’s next possession, Betsey found the bottom of the net from the top of the key to bring the Orange back within one (31-30).
Each team continued to trade baskets in the half’s final four minutes, with Syracuse making six of its last eight and SMU scoring four in a row. The scoring barrage ended with the Orange down 39-38 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), points in the paint (28-12) and second-chance points (15-3), while the Orange were up 9-0 in fastbreak 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 upper hand over Syracuse. The Orange were outscored 12-4 in the first five minutes of the quarter. Corey Washington opened things up with two floater shots. SMU would then make four of its next five shots, which included two more threes from Miller.
A score off an offensive rebound by Yigitoglu led to Syracuse falling behind by nine (51-42) and forcing a timeout.
SMU would go up as much as 10 after jumpers by Washington and Miller before Sadiq White Jr. responded with this cut and alley-oop slam off the pass by George.
That said, the second half remained SMU’s to take and for good.
In its first 12 minutes, the Orange managed just 10 points and were outscored by 19 points. Over this period, SMU would go on a 13-0 run primarily due to Pierre Jr.
Kingz would score twice, once on a fading mid-range jumper from the baseline and another off an offensive rebound. After that, Pierre Jr. — who started off 0/8 in the game from downtown — made three of his next four from the perimeter. His scoring burst led to the Orange going from down eight to suddenly falling behind as much as 21 points (69-48).
After Kingz and Freeman converted on back-to-back buckets, Pierre Jr. drilled another three over White Jr. to keep SMU ahead by 20 with seven to go.
Syracuse would cut the deficit in half thanks to a quick 8-0 run courtesy of consecutive threes from Betsey and another jam by White Jr. A triple from Freeman brought the Orange within 10 with three minutes left, but unlike last time around for the Mustangs, this was too much of a deficit to overcome.
And just like that, the 2025-26 campaign is officially over for the Orange. Now comes an offseason filled with uncertainty and plenty of important decisions to be made.
