Syracuse men’s basketball (15-12, 6-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) had both a little bit of momentum headed into a clash with No. 3 Duke (24-2, 13-1 ACC), and dreams of an upset down in Durham. Unfortunately, reality is incredibly harsh. The Orange were met with their worst loss of the season so far in the form of a 101-64 beatdown at the hands of the Blue Devils.
In its worst loss in ACC history, @Cuse_MBB falls to No. 3 @DukeMBB 101-64.@Hudson_Ridley and @GriffinMarcy1 had the call from Cameron Indoor Stadium. pic.twitter.com/1adpCw9iVY
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 17, 2026
Despite the lopsided final score, the ‘Cuse was solidly in the game with three minutes left in the first half. SU guard Nait George cashed a jumper to cut the Duke lead to just five points. In those last 180 seconds, the Blue Devils scored 11 unanswered points and went into half up 16. Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry knew that was the difference-maker.
“I thought in the first half we had some moments, but we ended the half bad and that started the momentum [for Duke].”
That end-of-half divide just got deeper after the break. The Blue Devils shot over 70% from the field in the second half, which is just absurd considering they also took 32 shots. Guard Nikolas Khamenia tied a career high with 14 points on the game. 12 of those came in the final 20 minutes. Syracuse could do nothing to stop Duke.
This isn’t a new thing for the ‘Cuse either. SU loses just about 55% of its second halves in Power 5 play, and is now 1-9 in the Power 5 when it loses the second half. 61 points allowed in the last 20 minutes to Duke was the most allowed in a second half all year, but that’s followed closely by 60 to Iowa State in Las Vegas in November.
It has been disappointment after disappointment for @Cuse_MBB against top opponents in the nation after its 37-point loss to @DukeMBB.@SokolskyJish thinks SU gets too comfortable, and @adamhipsky thinks the Orange can't play a full 40 minutes.
— WAER Sports Talk (@WAERSportsTalk) February 17, 2026
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While the Orange have their issues, the Blue Devils deserve credit for the level of talent on their roster, especially in the frontcourt. Forward Cameron Boozer had a 12 point, 10 board double-double before the end of the first half. He tacked on 10 more points in just nine second-half minutes. When starting big man Patrick Ngongba got into a bit of foul trouble, former ‘Cuse forward Maliq Brown stepped up. ‘Cuse head coach Adrian Autry took note of the tandem.
“Boozer is a guy who can impact the game even when he’s not scoring…That’s one of the best defensive front courts (Boozer & Maliq Brown) in the country”
When you get beat like that, the only thing left to do is move on and set your sights on the rest of the season. That’s exactly what Coach Autry wants his team to do.
“This game is over with. We didn’t play the way we needed to play. We have four games to play and we have four great opportunities.”
The first of those great opportunities comes on Saturday with another ranked ACC tilt against No. 16 North Carolina. SU and UNC just faced off at the beginning of February, with the Tar Heels knocking off the Orange 87-77 in Chapel Hill. Tipoff between Syracuse and North Carolina is set for 1 this Saturday, but all the coverage will be here on WAER for McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 12:30.
