As the Syracuse Orange’s matchup versus No. 3 Houston progressed, the doors were closing in on its chances of winning as the game clock got closer to reaching zero.
Syracuse previously held a nine-point lead in the first half. It would be down three (37-34) heading into the second half, when the Cougars started to take command. Houston’s defensive pressure ramped up and Syracuse’s offense was stuck in the mud. But, despite being down by as much as 11 points (65-54) with less than five minutes left, the team rallied and pushed back to force overtime in a 78-74 loss to Houston.
“We pride ourselves as our culture, our energy, our connections, our toughness, our fight. That’s what we talk about,” coach Adrian Autry said after the game. “So, I was just proud that these guys had a chance to actually see it and experience it. As we move forward, we’ll continue to get better.”
With 4:56 to go, Syracuse called timeout, regrouped and found its gear again.
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For the rest of regulation, Syracuse held Houston to just two points (both free throws) and zero baskets. On offense, it took several players to attack the Cougars’ elite defense and put the ball in the basket.
J.J. Starling began the scoring run with a layup in semi-transition. After Houston’s Emanuel Sharp knocked down two free throws, Starling and William Kyle each scored again around the rim. It was another key reason why Syracuse was able to storm back. The Orange outscored the Cougars by 14 points in the paint.
The pattern continued: stop, then score.
It was Tyler Betsey’s turn to step up, collecting a rebound off a missed free throw by Starling to get the deficit down to five points (67-62). It was then three after another stop by the Orange defense was followed a score by Kyle. Houston had two chances to essentially put the game away with under 90 seconds left, but didn’t.
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Instead, Kyle collected the loose ball rebound. Naithan George pushed the ball up court and found Betsey wide-open on the wing for the game-tying three, capping off an 11-0 Syracuse run.
“We knew that they were going to fight. We were going to fight as well, so just keeping our composure and just continuing to fight. That was the main message, and we were able to send it to overtime,” George said.
Ultimately, Syracuse did come up short in overtime, but just being there in the first place is certainly a promising sign for the team going forward.
Houston is not just the third-ranked team in the country, but it was also Syracuse’s first Power 5 opponent and Q1 game of the 2025-26 season. As some Syracuse fans have seen in the program’s recent history, this was a game where it could’ve gotten “ugly” in previously instances. Instead, the team continued to fight to the last buzzer, and that was with it being down one of its best players in Donnie Freeman.
“This was a hard-fought game. Both teams going at it,” Autry said. “Our culture gave us a chance to win this game came up short, but just got to continue to work hard, play at a level five, stay together and keep pushing through.”
Looking ahead, keeping that resilience and effort will be critical for the Orange and the team’s aspirations this year. Over the next week, Syracuse is already guaranteed to play two more Q1 opponents: Kansas in Las Vegas and Tennessee at home. Sandwiched in-between those two contests is a third game in the Players Era Festival, most likely against a P5 school.
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For the Orange to be successful in 2025-26, some of the close losses against high-quality opponents will eventually need to be wins. It can’t afford to shoot below 42% on free throws, like it did against Houston, or be in large deficits to begin with against the elite programs.
That said, if the Houston game does prove one thing, it’s that this team can at least compete versus those kind of opponents, a big step up compared to what recent history has showed.
“We knew this was going to be a fight, and we got ourselves off the ropes. We swung back. So, we just got to continue to have that mentality moving forward,” Autry said.
Syracuse will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday, when it will be back at MGM Grand Garden Arena to face the Jayhawks.
