Orange & Wildcats Meet in NCAA Second Round

No. 6 Syracuse (23-9) vs. No. 3 Kentucky (25-8)
Game Details	NCAA Tournament Second Round Monday, March 24 \| 6:40 p.m. ET \| Lexington, Ky. Memorial Coliseum (7,300) \| Tickets
Game Coverage	TV: ESPN2 Watch: ESPN3 Radio: ESPN 97.7/100.1 FM & 1200 AM \| Cuse.com Live Stats Twitter: @CuseWBB \| @cuse
Syracuse Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes
Kentucky Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes

Press Conference Videos: Coach Q | SU Players | UK Coach | UK Players

'Cuse Tournament Central | Lexington Tournament Central
Bracket: Interactive | Printable

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Coming off its first NCAA Tournament win in program history, the Syracuse women's basketball team (23-9) takes on No. 3 seed Kentucky (25-8) in the second round on Monday at 6:40 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.

• The winner of Monday's game advances to the third round of the South Bend Regional to be held next week in South Bend, Ind.

• The sixth-seeded Orange advanced to the second round with a 59-53 win over Chattanooga in the first round on Saturday. The Wildcats beat No. 14 seed

• Syracuse is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and third under eighth-year head coach Quentin Hillsman.

GAME COVERAGE

• Sunday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Syracuse alum Marc Kestecher and Brooke Weisbrod on the call. It can also be watched on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App.

• All Syracuse games can be heard live on the Orange's flagship station, ESPN 97.7/100.7 FM, 1200 AM, and on Cuse.com with Brian Higgins '04 on the call.

• A link to free live stats is available at Cuse.com.

• As always, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter for live in-game updates.

BACK IN THE NCAAS

• The Orange is making second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, third in eight years under Quentin Hillsman and sixth overall. (box scores p. 18).

• Last season, Syracuse received an No. 7 seed and went to Knoxville, Tenn. where it suffered a 61-56 loss in a tight game to 10th-seeded Creighton. Kayla Alexander scored 23 points and grabbed eight boards in her final game at SU as the team finished the year 24-8 overall.

• In its first NCAA Tournament appearance under Hillsman in 2008, SU received an at-large bid and a No. 7 seed, losing to 10th-seeded Hartford, 59-55, in the first round of the Oklahoma City Region in Baton Rouge, La., giving it a final record of 22-9. Erica Morrow led SU with 17 points in the game.

• In 2002, Syracuse was an at-large and No. 10 seed, losing to seventh-seeded Drake, 87-69, in the first round of the East Region in Waco, Texas. SU finished 18-13.

• SU made the 40-team field in 1988 as an at-large and No. 6 seed in the Mideast Region, getting a first-round bye before losing to third-seed Ohio State, 116-75, in Columbus, Ohio. The Orange concluded the season 22-9.

• Syracuse's NCAA debut came in 1985 when it received the BIG EAST's automatic berth after winning the conference championship. SU was a No. 8 seed in the East Region in the 32-team field and lost to top-seed and eventual national champion Old Dominion, 88-63, in Norfolk, Va.

ORANGE TOP MOCS IN OPENER

• Syracuse earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament win with a 59-53 decision over 11-seeded Chattanooga (29-4) on Saturday. Sophomore guards Brittney Sykes and Brianna Butler each recorded double-doubles with Sykes tallying 13 points and 12 rebounds and Butler notching 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior center Shakeya Leary led the team with 15 points and contributed eight boards including five on the offensive end.

• SU's advantage throughout the game was due in large part to the free throw differential. SU went 24-of-31 from the line while Chattanooga scored just 4-of-14.

• The Orange was strong in the post, outrebounding the Mocs, 52-36, including 19 offensive boards that led to 19 second-chance points. SU also outscored UTC 28-18 in the paint.

• Sykes left the game with 12:46 remaining and did not return after suffering a right knee injury on a drive to the basket. She finished with her third career double-double leading the game in points and rebounds at the time of her departure.

ORANGE STRONG IN '13-14

• An aggressive non-conference schedule, paired with a challenging ACC slate has helped the Orange achieve a No. 26 ranking in the latest official NCAA RPI ratings, released on March 17.

• 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.

• The Orange has won four wins over RPI top 25 teams, three of which were either on the road or a neutral site, and a total of 10 wins against the RPI top 100. All nine of its losses have come to teams that are No. 39 or better in the RPI.

AN ORANGE WIN WOULD...

• ...be the program's first NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance.

• ..send SU to the NCAA third round in South Bend, Ind. where it would face No. 2 seed Baylor or No. 7 seed California on March 29 at Purcell Pavilion.

• ...be its 24th of the season, tied for fourth-most in program history with last season (24-8).

• ...give SU 24+ wins in four of the last five seasons.

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME

• Syracuse ended regular season play on a roll, winning four in a row. The Orange has currently won six of its last seven. SU has outscored its opponents by an average of 19.2 points in the five wins over the last six games.

• SU's defense was suffocating, forcing an average of 18.8 turnovers and recording 10.5 steals in those final four regular season games, while holding its opponents to 42.1 percent shooting and 46.3 points per game.

IN THE POLLS

• Syracuse 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 on Dec. 23.

• The Orange debuted in the AP poll on Dec. 2 at No. 22 and was ranked for four-straight weeks.

#ORANGENATION SUCCESS

• Syracuse is one of only six schools to have both its men's and women's basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament and their football teams win a bowl game this year (Louisville, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina and Oklahoma).

• Syracuse and Louisville are the only two schools to accomplish that feat in each of the last two years.

• While the Orange women are a six seed, the men are a three, giving SU the fifth-best average seeding between its two programs in this year's tournaments.

SERIES HISTORY

• Syracuse is 0-2 all-time against Kentucky. The first meeting was a 88-63 win for the No. 11 Wildcats in the AIAW Tournament on March 18, 1981 at Memorial Coliseum. The most recent was a 83-63 UK win on Dec. 21, 1995 in Cincinnati.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY

• Kentucky comes into the game 25-8 overall after beating No. 14 seed Wright State in the first round, 106-60. The Wildcats are ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

• The Wildcats have won six out of their last seven games, the lone loss being to No. 6 Tennessee in the SEC title game, 71-70.

• UK plays an aggressive pressing style of defense, while on offense they score the 12th-most points in the country at 82.1 per game.

• Jennifer O'Neil is the Wildcats' leading scorer at 13.0 ppg coming off the bench. She has a team-high 54 3-pointers on the season and is shooting 38.3 percent behind the arc.

• DeNesha Stallworth, a 6-3 senior, scores 12.2 ppg and is shooting 52 percent from the field.

• Samarie Walker, a 6-1 senior, scores 9.2 ppg and grabs a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game.

• Head Coach Matthew Mitchell has 199 career wins and has take UK to the Sweet Sixteen in three of the last four seasons.

Syracuse University Athletics

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