Syracuse freshman Kiyan Anthony, the son of program legend and former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, logged his first DNP of the season during his team’s 72-59 loss to No. 18 Virginia on Saturday. Anthony, who is averaging 8.9 points and 1.6 rebounds during the 2025-26 season, has appeared in 23 games (two starts) and has been the Orange’s leading scorer off the bench.
Despite that, Anthony didn’t play in the key ACC matchup against the Cavaliers. The reason why? It was the decision of Syracuse coach Adrian Autry, who stated that the reason Anthony didn’t play was not due to an injury.
“It was my decision,” Autry said. “This is a physical team, experienced team and it was just my decision. Nothing else. No injuries or anything like that. No narratives about any of this stuff. Again, I made a decision that was my decision today.”
Anthony not playing for the first time this season comes days after he logged just 16 minutes against North Carolina earlier this week. In that game against the Tar Heels during an 87-77 loss, Anthony scored 10 points, which was the fourth-most on the team behind Donnie Freeman, Naithan George and J.J. Starling. Syracuse trailed by as many as 32 points before cutting the deficit to six in the final minute.
The elder Anthony likely isn’t going to be to happy wit the latest development after he appeared to voice his frustration after his alma mater lost to UNC earlier this week. He commented “SMFH” on a post from the official Syracuse basketball account on Instagram after the Orange lost to UNC 87-77 on Monday.
Syracuse sits at 13-11 overall (4-7 ACC) after the loss to Virginia. The Orange are tracking to miss the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season.
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