Donnie Freeman Shines, But Syracuse Falls Hard to No. 14 UNC in Chapel Hill
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Donnie Freeman gave Syracuse everything he had on Monday night. The 6-foot-9 forward was the engine, the fuel, and the spark for the Orange - and for long stretches, he was just about the only thing keeping them in the game. But as impressive as Freeman was, his 23-point, 8-rebound performance wasn’t enough to overcome a North Carolina team that simply had more weapons, more rhythm, and more answers.
Syracuse fell 87-77 to No. 14 North Carolina in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score suggests.
At one point in the second half, the Orange trailed by 32. A late flurry made things look respectable, but the damage was long done.
Freeman accounted for 56% of Syracuse’s first-half points and finished with nearly a third of their total output. He played 35 minutes, sat for just five, and carried the offensive load from the opening tip. But basketball is a team game, and on this night, Syracuse didn’t have enough around him to keep pace with the Tar Heels.
A One-Man Show Meets a Complete Team
North Carolina, led by standout freshman forward Caleb Wilson and 7-footer Henri Veesaar, looked every bit like a top-15 team. They moved the ball, played through their bigs, and got contributions up and down the roster.
Wilson, in particular, was a matchup nightmare for Syracuse. He started 3-for-3 from the floor and finished with 22 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
His size, athleticism, and touch around the rim gave SU fits all night.
UNC’s first two buckets came from a pair of clean assists from Veesaar to Wilson - a sign of things to come. The Tar Heels ran their offense with purpose, spacing the floor and attacking mismatches. Syracuse, meanwhile, struggled to generate anything outside of Freeman’s individual brilliance.
The Orange had just two assists in the first half and finished with seven for the game - a glaring indicator of how stagnant the offense became when the ball wasn’t in Freeman’s hands. The rest of the team shot 21-for-51 from the floor, and the lack of ball movement was evident throughout.
Turnovers compounded the problem. Syracuse coughed it up 10 times, nine of those coming before halftime. One sequence stood out: after a timeout, Naithan George was immediately called for traveling - a microcosm of the team’s disjointed execution.
A Glimmer of Hope, Then Reality Sets In
Despite being outplayed for most of the night, Syracuse made a late push that momentarily injected life into the game. Nate Kingz, who had been quiet for most of the night, knocked down a pair of threes in the final minutes.
J.J. Starling followed with a strong take to trim the deficit to six.
Suddenly, the Orange had a pulse.
But North Carolina never panicked. They regrouped, made plays on both ends, and closed the game out. The comeback attempt was valiant, but it came far too late to change the outcome.
Freeman’s buzzer-beating three to end the first half - a fading shot from the left wing - was a highlight moment. It cut what had been a 17-point deficit to 14 and briefly gave Syracuse hope heading into the break.
But when he sat down with 2:42 left in the first half, UNC went on a 12-0 run. The moment he left the floor, the Orange unraveled.
It was a similar story early in the second half. Freeman took a breather just over a minute in, and UNC pounced.
By the 11:45 mark, the Tar Heels led 69-40. The game was effectively over.
Syracuse’s Struggles in Big Games Continue
This loss drops Syracuse to 13-10 overall and 4-6 in ACC play. It also marks their fifth defeat in the last six games. Under Adrian Autry, the Orange are now 4-22 in Quad 1 games - a statistic that looms large for a program trying to claw its way back to national relevance.
Autry has had success against Hubert Davis before, but not this time. North Carolina looked like a team with Final Four aspirations. Syracuse looked like a team still searching for its identity.
Kiyan Anthony struggled to find his rhythm, taking a few tough shots that didn’t fall. One of his misses led directly to a transition three from UNC’s Jonathan Powell.
Another Powell triple - this one from the corner after SU switched into a 2-3 zone - pushed the Tar Heels’ lead to 17 late in the first half. That defensive switch left fans scratching their heads.
Looking Ahead
This wasn’t the worst loss Syracuse has suffered in Chapel Hill - that honor still belongs to the 103-67 drubbing from January 2024 - but it was a reminder that there’s still a significant gap between where the Orange are and where they want to be.
Freeman looked every bit the part of a future NBA lottery pick. He was strong with the ball, confident from deep, and relentless on the glass. But without consistent support around him, his efforts went largely unrewarded.
For Syracuse to turn the corner, they’ll need more than just a star performance. They’ll need cohesion, consistency, and contributions from the entire roster. Monday night was a clear example of what happens when one player shows up and the rest of the team doesn’t.
The Orange have talent. But talent alone doesn’t win in the ACC - not against teams like North Carolina, and certainly not in the Dean Dome.