Orange Hosts #3 Duke on ACC Day

rv/rv Syracuse (11-3, 0-1) vs. No. 3/3 Duke (14-1, 1-0)
Game Details	Thursday, Jan. 9 \| 7 p.m. ET \| Syracuse, N.Y. Carrier Dome (35,012) \| Tickets \| Directions
Game Coverage	TV: Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (323) Watch: Orange All Access Radio: ESPN 97.7/100.1 FM & 1200 AM \| Orange All-Access Live Stats Twitter: @CuseWBB \| @cuse
Syracuse Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes
Duke Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes

Follow @CuseWBB
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse women's basketball (11-3, 0-1 ACC) hosts its first-ever home ACC contest on Thursday when No. 3 Duke (14-1, 1-0 ACC) comes to the Carrier Dome for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

GAME COVERAGE
• Thursday's game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (323) with Mark Larson and Lorraine Schunck on the call.
• All the Orange's games can be heard live on SU's flagship station, ESPN 97.7/100.7 FM and 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.

"DUKE-FOR-DUKE" TICKET PROMO
Any fan with a paid ticket to Thursday's women's game will be entered into two drawings for pairs of 100-level tickets to the men's game vs. Duke on Feb 1. The winners will be announced in the second half and must be present to claim their prize. The men's game vs. Duke is expected to challenge the NCAA on-campus attendance record of 35,012 set last season by the Orange vs. Georgetown.

ACC DAY
As it hosts its first-ever game in its new conference, Syracuse will be celebrating "ACC Day" at the Dome on Thursday. There will be t-shirt tosses and other ACC give-aways to commemorate the occasion.
DJ Maestro and the Syracuse cheerleaders will be performing throughout the day.

HOT START TO '13-14
• 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.
• Its current 11-3 mark is the sixth time in the last seven season under Quentin Hillsman that SU has been 11-3 or better 14 games into the year.
• The Orange has outscored its opponents by an average of 20.5 points, scoring 80.4 points per game while allowing just 59.9.

AN ORANGE WIN WOULD...
• ...be its first ACC victory. It was 197-298 in 31 seasons in the BIG EAST.
• ...make Syracuse 12-3 or better after 15 games for the 12th time in program history and sixth time in the last seven seasons under Quentin Hillsman.
• ...be the second-highest ranked team Syracuse has ever defeated, behind only No. 2 Connecticut (62-59) on Jan. 2, 1996.
• ...make it 1-1 all-time vs. the Blue Devils, and 1-0 against them at the Carrier Dome.
• ....make SU 5-3 vs. teams that are ranked or receiving votes this season.

SERIES HISTORY
• Duke won the only previous meeting between the schools, 84-40, in the Big Four Classic in Greensboro, N.C. on Dec. 30, 1995.
• Raquel Nurse led the Orangewomen that day with 17 points, while Thandeka Masimini led SU with nine boards.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
• Duke is 14-1 on the season, including most-recently a 64-47 win at Georgia Tech in its ACC opener.
• The Blue Devils are ranked No. 3 in both the AP and USA TODAY Coaches polls. They are No. 2 in the first official NCAA RPI rankings of the season.
• Duke's lone loss of the season came on Dec. 17 vs. No. 1 Connecticut at home, 83-61.
• Duke is 3-1 vs. ranked teams with wins at No. 9 Cal (70-58), vs. No. 16 Purdue (99-78) and at No. 17 Oklahoma (894-85).
• While Syracuse won the Paradise Jam Reef Division title with a 3-0 record over Thanksgiving, Duke was also playing in the tournament in the Virgin Islands, winning the Island Division with a 3-0 record.
• The Blue Devils have one of the most efficient offenses in the country, shooting the third-highest field goal percentage in the country (50.1 percent) and point guard Chelsea Gray ranks sixth in the NCAA in assists (7.5 per game).
• Tricia Liston is the leading scorer at 17.5 ppg while shooting 58.1 percent overall and 50.8 percent from3-point range. She leads five players averaging double figures.
• Duke is coming off a 33-3 season in 2012-13 in which it won the ACC Championship and advanced to the NCAA regional finals, finishing ranked No. 5.

IN THE POLLS
• Syracuse dropped out of both the AP and USA TODAY Coaches top 25 polls this week, receiving 39 points in the AP and 24 in the coaches poll.
• The Orange was ranked an all-time program high 20th the previous two weeks in the AP poll. It was No. 23 in the coaches poll two weeks ago and No. 24 last week.
• The Orange debuted in the AP poll on Dec. 2 at No. 22 and was ranked for four-straight weeks.
• SU was ranked No. 22 in both the final AP and USA TODAY Coaches polls last season. It was ranked for seven-straight weeks in the AP poll and 10-straight weeks in the coaches poll, both program records.

LAST TIME OUT
• Brianna Butler scored 17 points and hit a pair of key 3-pointers late, but it was not enough as No. 20/24 Syracuse lost its ACC opener, 67-61, at NC State (14-1, 1-0 ACC) on Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum. In a tight back-and-forth game, the Orange and Wolfpack exchanged leads 14 times and were tied seven times.
• Kody Burke scored a game-high 19 points and Markeisha Gatling had a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Wolfpack.
• Butler's 17 points paced SU, while La'Shay Taft had 11 and Rachel Coffey and Brittney Sykes added nine points each. The Orange shot 33.3 percent from the field, but was aided by 10-of-27 (37 percent) shooting from 3-point range. Syracuse held a 42-35 rebounding advantage.

DOME SWEET DOME
• SU has a record of 83-32 (.722) in 115 games in the Carrier Dome since moving there full-time in 2006-07, including a 7-0 mark this season as it has outscored its opponents by an average of 36 ppg (87.6-51.6).
• SU went 13-1 at home last season, tied for its best home winning percentage in program history. The Orange also went 13-1 in 1987-88.

UP NEXT
• Syracuse remains home to host Georgia Tech in an ACC battle on Sunday at 1 p.m. It will be Daughter Day at the Carrier Dome, featuring t-shirts, a post-game autograph session, giveaways and more.

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