Thursday, January 30
Chapel Hill, N.C.
7 p.m.
Syracuse University
at
North Carolina
'Cuse Women Take on #6 Tar Heels
1/29/2014 12:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| rv/rv Syracuse (15-5, 4-3) at No. 6/6 North Carolina (17-3, 5-1) | |
| Game Details |
Thursday, Jan. 30 | 7 p.m. ET | Chapel Hill, N.C. Carmichael Arena (6,822) |
| Game Coverage |
TV: ACC Regional Sports Network | Affiliates List Watch: ESPN3 Radio: ESPN 97.7/100.1 FM & 1200 AM | Orange All-Access Live Stats Twitter: @CuseWBB | @cuse |
| Syracuse Links | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes |
| North Carolina Links | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Notes |
Follow @CuseWBB
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse women's basketball (15-5, 4-3 ACC) looks to extend its three-game winning streak and knock off a top-10 opponent on Thursday when it plays at No. 6 North Carolina (17-3, 5-1 ACC) in a 7 p.m. tip-off.
GAME COVERAGE
• The game will be televised live on the ACC Regional Sports Network with Mike Hogewood and Debbie Antonelli on the call. Locally, the game will air on YES (Time Warner Cable channels 53 & 321).
• All games can be heard live on SU's flagship station, ESPN 97.7/100.7 FM, 1200 AM, and on Orange All-Access at SUAthletics.com with Brian Higgins '04 on the call.
• Free live stats are also available at SUathletics.com.
• As always, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter for live in-game updates.
STRONG START TO '13-14
• An aggressive non-conference schedule, paired with a challenging start to the ACC slate has helped the Orange achieve a No. 15 ranking in the latest official NCAA RPI ratings, released on Jan. 27.
• Currently, RealTimeRPI ranks Syracuse No. 16 overall.
• The Sagarin/CBN Ratings have SU 17th with the No. 11 strength-of-schedule in the country.
• Syracuse went 11-2 in its non-conference schedule, the seventh time in program history the Orange was 11-2 or better after 13 games.
AN ORANGE WIN WOULD...
• ...be its first four-game ACC winning streak.
• ...the third-highest ranked opponent SU has ever beaten.
• ...the highest ranked opponent SU has ever beaten on the road.
• ...make SU 1-4 all-time against North Carolina and 1-1 vs. the Tar Heels at the Carmichael Arena.
SERIES HISTORY
• Syracuse is 0-3 all-time against North Carolina with the most recent meeting taking place 13 seasons ago.
• No. 7/6 UNC beat SU, 97-72, on Nov. 18, 2007 in the Preseason WNIT at Carmichael Arena. Erica Morrow led SU with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Vaida Sipaviciute added 12 points and six blocks. Rashanda McCants had 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Tar Heels.
• The previous game between the programs was a 81-68 UNC win in the season opener on Nov. 19, 2000 at Manley Field House. The first match-up was an 85-68 Heels win on Nov. 17, 1998 at Carmichael Arena in the Preseason WNIT.
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
• North Carolina is 17-3 overall and 5-1 in ACC play.
• The Tar Heels are ranked No. 6 in both major polls this week. It is also sixth in the NCAA RPI rankings.
• UNC has won five in a row after its lone ACC loss of the season vs. Maryland on Jan. 5, 79-70. Most recently, it defeated Boston College (73-56) and Wake Forest (83-65) in back-to-back road games.
• SU and UNC share one non-conference opponent, Arizona State. The Tar Heels lost to the Sun Devils, 94-81 in overtime on Nov. 29 in Cancun, Mexico, while the Orange lost to them, 63-60, on Dec. 30 in Tempe.
• UNC's defense is holding opponents to the third-lowest shooting percentage in the country (.334) and the Heels rank third as well in steals per game (12.7).
• Carolina starts four freshmen and one sophomore.
• Freshman 6-1 guard Diamond DeShields is the top scorer at 16.3 ppg.
• Freshman 6-3 forward Stephanie Mavunga is the top post player at 12.7 ppg and a team-best 9.7 rebounds per contest.
• Freshman Allisha Gray (13.8 ppg) and sophomore Xylina McDaniel (12.4 ppg) round out the four double-figure scorers.
• Hall of Fame head coach Sylvia Hatchell is in her 28th season at UNC and 39th overall. is currently serving as interim coach as Hatchell has received treatment for leukemia. She was recently declared in remission.
IN THE POLLS
• Syracuse is receiving votes this week in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY coaches polls. It was previously ranked for five straight weeks in the AP poll and a total of three weeks in the coaches poll this season.
• The Orange was ranked an all-time program high 20th in the Dec. 23 and Dec. 30 AP polls. It was as high as No. 23 in the coaches poll four weeks ago.
• The Orange debuted in the AP poll on Dec. 2 at No. 22 and was ranked for four-straight weeks.
LAST TIME OUT
• Brittney Sykes' career-high 27 points led Syracuse to an 84-75 victory over Virginia (10-10, 3-4 ACC) on Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. Brianna Butler and Rachel Coffey also had big days, with Butler earning her first double-double on 16 points and 12 assists and Coffey scoring a season-best 17 points.
• Sykes was 10-of-13 from the field en route to her game-leading point total while Coffey was hot from beyond the arc, hitting 5-of-8. Butler's 12 assists were a career best, tripling her previous high of four.
• The Orange shot 50.8 (30-59) percent from the field, the highest of the season, including 38.5 percent from 3-point range. Virginia was held to 39 percent shooting overall.
MASTER THIEVES
• With an aggressive fullcourt press and trapping defense, the Orange boasts the best turnover margin in the ACC (20th nationally) at +5.1 and has produced an average of 22.8 points per game this season off its opponents' 19.7 turnovers per game.
• In its last two games, SU scored 26 points off 22 turnovers vs. Clemson, and had 24 off 15 vs. Virginia.
• In its three wins at the Paradise Jam, the Orange forced at least 20 turnovers by its opponents each game.
• Syracuse scored 53 points off 31 turnovers in its 113-42 win vs. Maryland Eastern Shore. SU totaled 18 steals by nine different players.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
• Also aiding the ACC-best turnover margin is the fact that Syracuse has turned the ball over the tied-for-second-fewest times in the ACC at 14.6 per game.
• SU surrenders just 14.8 ppg off its turnovers, resulting in a +8.0 margin in points per game off turnovers.
• Brianna Butler boasts the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team (and best in the ACC if she qualified) at 55-to-20.
UP NEXT
• Syracuse returns home to host No. 8/9 Maryland on Sunday in a noon tip-off. It will be National Girls & Women in Sport Day, as well as Girl Scouts Day at the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised on the ACC Regional Sports Network. Locally, it will air on MSG Plus (Time Warner Cable channels 69 & 319).
Tuesday, March 24
Monday, March 23
Monday, March 23
Monday, March 23
