Syracuse men’s basketball dropped a 72-59 road decision to No. 18 Virginia on Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, as a late scoring drought allowed the Cavaliers to pull away in the closing minutes.
Naithan George led all scorers with 19 points, shooting nearly flawlessly from the field and missing only once. J.J. Starling and Nate Kingz each added 13 points for the Orange, while William Kyle III contributed four blocks on the defensive end. Syracuse shot 25-of-51 from the field (49.0 percent) and held Virginia to 41.3 percent shooting but was hurt by the Cavaliers’ perimeter scoring, as Virginia knocked down 10 three-pointers.
Virginia led 38-35 at halftime after Syracuse erased a double-digit deficit with a late first-half surge. The teams traded baskets through much of the second half, and Syracuse cut the margin to 61-57 with 5:10 remaining following a 7-2 run.
The Orange offense then stalled, enduring a scoring drought of more than two minutes while Virginia extended its lead. A driving layup by Kingz briefly halted the stretch, but the Cavaliers answered with a timely three-pointer and added late baskets to seal the win.
Sam Lewis paced Virginia with 16 points, including four three-pointers, as the Cavaliers improved to 20-3 overall and 9-2 in ACC play.
Syracuse fell to 13-11 overall and 4-7 in conference play with the loss.
GAME RECAP LINKS
- Orange Dropped by #18/17 Virginia (Cuse.com)
- Syracuse falls to No. 18 Virginia 72-59 for 6th loss in last 7 games (DailyOrange.com)
- Syracuse men’s basketball: turnovers, offensive rebounds doom Orange’s upset bid versus #18 Virginia (NunesMagician.com)
- Observations from SU’s loss to Virginia: George catches fire, Kiyan benched (DailyOrange.com)
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
ADRIAN AUTRY’S POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
I have zero interest in college hoops these days. I used to watch as many Syracuse games as I could, but no more. I’ve probably seen 20 minutes of this season, including the last few today. I can’t believe what has become of this program. Man, what a disgrace given what it once…
— Sal Maiorana (@salmaiorana) February 7, 2026
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
