Orange Announces 2008-09 BIG EAST Schedule

View 2008-09 Schedule

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The 2008-09 women’s basketball BIG EAST schedule was announced today. The Orange, lead by head coach Quentin Hillsman, will take on conference rivals in 16 games, eight of which are against teams that advanced to last year’s NCAA tournament.

The team begins its BIG EAST challenge on the road against Georgetown on Saturday, January 3rd, and follows it up three days later with a home opener against Rutgers at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights finished second overall in the conference last year and lost to conference-foe Connecticut in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse is back on the road as it travels to Cincinnati on Saturday, January 10th, and then comes home to face Seton Hall in a 7 p.m. match-up on January 13th.

The Orange will be tested as it travels to Hartford to take on Connecticut for a noon battle on Saturday, January 17th. The Huskies topped the BIG EAST standings last year and appeared in the 2008 NCAA Tournament Semifinals, eventually losing to Stanford.

Next, Syracuse will face the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, January 24th at 1 p.m. The Panthers made it to the Sweet 16 in last year’s NCAA Tournament and tied Syracuse with a 10-6 conference record in 2008. SU travels again on Tuesday, January 27th to Milwaukee for a 1 p.m. contest against Marquette.

The Orange return to Syracuse on Saturday, January 30th for a 1 p.m. match-up against Villanova, followed by a road game at Louisville on Tuesday, February 3rd at 7 p.m. The Cardinals lost to North Carolina in the Sweet 16 last year.

SU will then come back to the dome for a 1 p.m. game against South Florida on Saturday, February 7th. The team will then travel to St. John’s on Saturday, February 14th; game time is at 2 p.m.

The Orange is home for the next two home games. The first match-up is against DePaul on Tuesday, February 17th at 8 p.m. The Blue Devils lost to Marist in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament last year. The second game is against the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday, February 22nd at 6 p.m.

The team then has two consecutive away games against opponents that made it past the first-round of the NCAA tournament last year. First, the Orange battles the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on Tuesday, February 24th at 7 p.m. Last year, the Irish made it to the Sweet 16, where it lost to eventual-national champion, Tennessee. Syracuse will then face the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, February 28th. The BIG EAST foes fell to Vanderbilt in the Second Round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. Game time is not yet announced.

Rounding out the BIG EAST schedule is a home game against Providence on Monday, March 2nd at 7 p.m. The Friars finished last in the BIG EAST standings last year.

All BIG EAST home games will be played in the Carrier Dome. Game times are tentative and subject to change. The BIG EAST unveils a new tournament format for its women’s basketball championship in 2008, with all 16 teams invited to battle for the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The women’s tournament beings Friday, March 6 and continues through the championship game, which will be played Tuesday, March 10. All games will be played at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

Syracuse University Athletics

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