Syracuse’s upset bid comes up short again as Kansas pulls away late

Las Vegas ― For the second day in a row, the Syracuse Orange fought toe-to-toe with a heavily favored opponent, only to come up short of a big win.

One day after dropping a 78-74 overtime decision to No. 3 Houston, Syracuse fell 71-60 to Kansas on the second day of the Players Era Festival at the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena.

Making Syracuse’s performances even more remarkable is the Orange played without leading scorer Donnie Freeman, who is out with an injury to his right foot.

Kansas pulled away late, outscoring Syracuse 19 to 10 over the game’s final six minutes.

Syracuse’s record fell to 4-2 with the loss. The Orange will now wait to see if it plays on either Wednesday or Thursday, in addition to which team it will face in the final round of games of the Players Era Festival.

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Tyler Betsey led Syracuse with 12 points, but the sophomore forward was 4-for-13 from the field. JJ Starling was 3-for-13 en route to his 10 points.

Syracuse couldn’t find any consistency on offense the entire game.

The Orange made field goals on consecutive possessions just once; on its first two possessions of the game.

After that, Syracuse’s scoring came in a herky-jerky fashion. There was never any flow or rhythm.

The Orange’s offensive problems weren’t helped by its continued poor shooting from the foul line. After making only 12 out of 29 free throws in Monday’s overtime loss to Houston, Syracuse went 13-for-23 at the line against Kansas. Some of those misses came on the front end of one-and-one opportunities, costing the Orange more points.

Kansas, on the other hand, went 18-for-20 at the free throw line.

But the Orange scrapped and clawed and somehow stayed in the game.

After trailing by nine points at halftime, Syracuse trimmed Kansas’ lead down to 46-40 on Kiyan Anthony’s three-point play with 13 minutes remaining.

Syracuse could have made it closer but failed to score on two straight possessions, including one that offered two chances to score, but Nate Kingz missed a 3-pointer and Naithan George couldn’t convert in the lane on the follow-up.

However, Syracuse, which had struggled to find consistent scoring for most of the game, went cold again. Two empty Syracuse possessions were bracketed by a Kansas 3-pointer and another traditional three-point play, giving the Jayhawks a 52-41 lead.

Syracuse refused to go away though. Orange center William Kyle fought his way to an offensive rebound and then slammed the ball back through a bruised rim. Then Starling swished a 3-pointer and, suddenly, the Kansas lead was down to 52-47.

Betsey, who had been cold all night, got the Orange to within 52-50 with a 3-pointer at the 6-minute mark.

But Kansas responded with an 11-0 run to which Syracuse had no answer.

Kansas and Syracuse both played without their star players. SU’s Freeman is out with an injured right foot, while Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson, who many project as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, is dealing with hamstring issues.

Kansas entered Tuesday’s game unranked with a 4-2 record. However, KenPom.com rated the Jayhawks, whose losses came against North Carolina and Duke, at No. 22.

The Syracuse players lacked the physical energy and mental sharpness that they displayed in Monday’s near-upset of Houston.

Kansas took a 34-25 halftime lead after holding Syracuse to 31% field goal shooting and crushing the Orange on the boards with 26 rebounds to just 11 for SU. The Orange was fortunate that Kansas only turned those extra opportunities into 12 points.

The Orange struggled to score against Kansas, especially when attacking the basket. The Syracuse players kept running into Kansas big men Flory Bidunga and Bryce Tiller.

When Syracuse couldn’t create any good looks, the Orange settled for 3-pointers. For the half, Syracuse went 3-for-12 from long rang. Betsey, who made four 3-pointers against Houston, made only one of his seven shots from outside the 3-point line in the first half on Tuesday.

Syracuse’s defense, which was so aggressive and quick against Houston, seemed a step slower against Kansas. The Jayhawks made 14 of their 29 field goal attempts in the first half.