Can Syracuse’s Relentless Defense Propel the Orange to an Unstoppable Season?

Heading into the 2025-26 season, most folks pegged Syracuse’s offense as the engine that would power the Orange to success, while the defensive side of the ball seemed like a more pressing question mark. But halfway through the campaign, the narrative’s flipped in a way that’s hard to ignore. Syracuse’s defense has blossomed into the team’s unexpected standout, boasting a top-50 adjusted defensive rating, according to KenPom. That transformation didn’t happen by accident—it’s the fruit of relentless offseason work and a strategic focus on recruiting versatile players who can lock down opponents on both ends of the court, as Coach Adrian Autry revealed during the recent ACC Men’s Basketball Coaches Zoom call. This commitment, centered around defensive intensity and preparation, led to key additions like William Kyle, whose impact on defense is nothing short of critical. With this new defensive identity shaping their play, Syracuse is not just making life tough on their rivals; they’re redefining what it means to be a tough contender in a loaded ACC landscape. LEARN MORE

In the weeks leading up to the start of the year for the Syracuse Orange, it appear on paper that offense would drive the team’s success with the other side of the court being more of a concern.

At around the halfway point of the 2025-26 campaign, Syracuse’s defense has arguably been the biggest surprise of the year so far. The Orange will enter its next game with a top-50 adjusted defensive rating, according to KenPom.

Getting to this point included plenty of work in the offseason, as coach Adrian Autry noted during the ACC Men’s Basketball Coaches Zoom Call on Monday.

“We did a ton of defense, and we broke it down with technique and giving them a big picture of what we’re trying to accomplish. Gave them a lot of visuals, (and) a lot of statistics to get them to buy into it,” Autry said. “For us to get to where we want to get to, that was gonna be the building block and that was what we were going to hang our hat on.”

The emphasis to get to that level defensively was two-fold heading into this season. The first is the most important: bringing in the right players. Autry explained how the top priority of the Orange’s most recent offseason was adding players who could play on both sides of the court.

At the center (literally) of those additions was William Kyle.

While Kyle will have the occasional, jaw-dropping slam like he had against Pittsburgh, his value especially on the defensive side remains critical for ‘Cuse. In Syracuse’s three most used lineups so far with Kyle in the game, Syracuse’s defensive rating sits between 71st and 86th percentile, according to CBB Analytics. He’s also in plus-90th percentile territory in steal percentage (2.9%; 92nd percentile) and block percentage (10.9%; 97th percentile).

Surrounding the starting center are athletes up-and-down the roster. Of Syracuse’s nine players who are in the rotation, all are between six-foot-three and six-foot nine. Most are legit athletes who can theoretically guard multiple positions.

One of the more notable success for Syracuse on defense has been Nate Kingz, who joined the Orange as a transfer from Oregon State and brought a clear reputation for putting the ball in the basket and knocking down threes. His intensity defensively, however, continues to be a positive for ‘Cuse.

“He’s a really good shooter and… he can score it as well. But, the intrigue really came on the other end of the other court,” Autry said. “He defends and he’s very competitive on that side of the basketball as well.”

Outside of bringing in the right players, there’s also having the right preparation.

Part of the work to get to this point included Autry and the coaching staff showing the team film of different concepts. Autry said it’s “the biggest tool” the team uses. That includes watching NBA tape and even some of the better defenses in college.

“It was just a combination of teaching on the court and visually giving them the concept of what we’re trying to accomplish, I think (that) really helped them,” Autry said.

Through 16 games, Syracuse has certainly made life difficult for its opponents to put the ball in the basket.

Of the 14 metrics CBB Analytics tracks, the Orange are in the 84th percentile or better in eight of them, including six at the 90th percentile or better. The full list:

Two-point percentage: 44.7% (97th percentile)
Three-pointers allowed per game: 20 (88th percentile)
Three-point percentage: 30.6% (84th percentile)
Effective field goal percentage: 45.1% (97th percentile)
Three-point attempt rate: 34.1% (91st percentile)
Field goal percentage in the half court: 36.1% (96th percentile)
Field goal attempt percentage in the half court: 76.5% (93rd percentile)
Field goal percentage in transition: 46.4% (95th percentile)

Where can the Orange improve?

Against good passing teams, Syracuse has certainly seem its shortcomings. The Orange rank below the 40th percentile in both two-point and three-point assisted percentage. At times, rebounding has allowed extra trips for opponents. Syracuse is bottom-30th percentile in field goal percentage on putbacks and number of putback attempts.

And on offense, when Syracuse can’t protect the ball, it has been able to stop other teams quite well in transition, but it’s also giving up nearly 1/5 of the shots opponents take from those looks. That’s seventh percentile in the entire country.

Keeping the defense consistent and consistently good will be critical for the Orange going forward.

After its next two games, which both currently sit as Quadrant 3 games, Syracuse’s remaining ACC schedule heading into the conference tournament will see the program face only Q1 and Q2 opponents in 10 of its final 11 contests. Of its 15 remaining ACC opponents, 12 of them rank in the top-100 in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom. Eight are in the top-50 and five are in the top-25.

So far against ACC competition, Autry said his team offensively has started to put the ball in the basket. The Orange scored north of 80 points against Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh. But, defense remains Syracuse’s key to success as the quality of opponent it will soon face continues to ramp up. Autry said his players have improved, yet there is still more room to grow.

“Defensively, we’ve played good in spurts. We’ve had some big dips and things that we want to continue to address,” Autry said.