Syracuse got throttled by Louisville (13-5, 6-1 ACC), 85-61, on their home court. The Orange moved to 8-9 overall and 2-5 in ACC play.

Syracuse had another slow start, and five minutes in, they were already down 13-4.

Though the Orange would eventually cut the lead to 21-17 with 8 minutes to go before intermission, back-to-back 3 pointers to Louisville’s top scorer Chucky Hepburn making it a ten-point game and forcing a timeout from Adrian Autry.

Louisville has shot more 3s than any team in the conference and has made the most.

The Cardinals' two most prominent 3-point shooters, Hepburn and Reyne Smith, shot 9 for 17 from 3 as Louisville made about 12 percent more of their 3s than normal.

Autry put it succinctly.

“If JJ only scores four points we’re going to have a tough time to win,” Autry said.

Starling totaled four points on 1-7 from the field and didn’t have a single point in the first half. Starling had been coming off of consecutive 20+ point games but that was not the case on Tuesday.

None of the other shooting guards shot well as Lucas Taylor and Elijah Moore both went scoreless and Kyle Cuffe went 2-7.

Chris Bell came off the bench for the fourth straight game, and was the first substitute Autry deployed.

Bell had a team-high 18 points on 6-11 from the field and 4-7 from 3, hitting double digits for just the third time in the last eight games.

Bell was the only somewhat consistent offense the Orange could find although it ultimately didn't make much of a difference.

Elijah Moore has yet to score a point in 2025, and has gone 0-for in his last six games.

During that period of time, he is 0-11 from long range, compared to 36 percent prior to the turn of the calendar.

Moore started against Louisville, played the first six minutes, missed two open 3-pointers before being subbed out until there was just 90 seconds left in the game. In the second half there were a couple chances for him to shoot but he opted to pass.

“He has to keep shooting," Autry said. "He passed up a couple. He has to stay confident."

Moore, recruited as a sharpshooter, is part of a overall larger issue for the Orange, who are 17th in the ACC in 3-point percentage.

Syracuse recorded 14 turnovers and had an assist to turnover ratio of 1:1.

Starling started the game at point guard and recorded six turnovers after recording zero against Boston College. Starling now has 26 turnovers on the year averaging 2.6 per game.

Jaquan Carlos saw a lot more time tonight with 18 minutes after recording only five in Chestnut Hill. But SU's only true point guard spent the first 10 minutes of the game on the bench.

Louisville applied good on-ball and off-ball pressure making simple passes look difficult for the Orange offense. The Cardinals were rewarded for their efforts as they scored 17 points off of turnovers to Syracuse’s eight.

Syracuse ranks dead last in the ACC for turnover margin and average the third most turnovers in the league.

Autry faces a tough dilemma on whether or not to start Carlos at the point.

Carlos is a natural point guard who turns the ball over less with a 2.29 assist to turnover ratio. When he doesn’t start, Starling becomes the de facto ball handler who has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.12.

Carlos is a shorter guard and has struggled finding his own offense but he brings the cool hand that is absent when Starling runs the point.

Autry’s decision to have Carlos come off the bench wasn’t the reason Syracuse lost, but it may not have set up the team for success against an aggressive Louisville defense.

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