Thursday, March 6
Greensboro, N.C.
11 a.m.
Syracuse University
vs
Clemson
Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski
'Cuse Opens ACC Tourney Play on Thursday
3/5/2014 11:34:00 AM | Women's Basketball
@CuseWBB faces Virginia Tech/Clemson winner in its first ACC Tournament game.
| No. 5 Syracuse (21-8, 10-6 ACC) vs. No. 12 Virginia Tech or No. 13 Clemson | |
| Game Details |
Thursday, March 6 | 11 a.m. ET | Greensboro, N.C. Greensboro Coliseum (23,500) | Tickets |
| Game Coverage |
ACC Tournament Central | Bracket TV: RSN (list of affiliates) 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 Pre-Tournament Teleconference |
Follow @CuseWBB
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse women's basketball (21-8, 10-6 ACC) heads to its first ACC Tournament this week as the No. 5 seed after an outstanding inagural regular season in the conference. The Orange receives a first-round bye and will play the winner of Wednesday's game between No. 12 Virginia Tech and No. 13 Clemson on Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. The winner advances to face No. 4 NC State in Friday's quarterfinal round at 11 a.m.
GAME COVERAGE
• All games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be televised on the ACC Regional Sports Network. Thursday's 11 a.m. game will air locally on the YES Network. Saturday's semifinal games will air on ESPNU and Sunday's championship game will be on ESPN. All games can be watched online at ESPN3.com and on 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. The game will also air on WJPZ 89.1 FM.
• A link to free live stats is available at Cuse.com.
• As always, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter for live in-game updates.
GREENSBORO GOES ORANGE
• The Orange makes its ACC Tournament debut in 2014 as the No. 5 seed in the 15-team tournament after going 10-6 in its first season in the league. It finished tied for fifth with North Carolina, but got the nod by virtue of its 78-73 win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on Jan. 30.
• SU will face the winner of Wednesday's 1 p.m. game between 12-seed Virginia Tech and 13-seed Clemson on Thursday at 11 a.m on RSN. The Orange beat both teams in the Carrier Dome during the regular season, 73-48 vs. the Hokies on Feb. 6 and 84-75 over the Tigers on Jan. 23.
• The winner will meet No. 4 seed NC State on Friday at 11 a.m. on RSN. SU lost a tight game in Raleigh to the Wolfpack, 67-61, in the ACC opener on Jan. 5.
• A potential semifinal game against the Notre Dame/Miami/Florida State winner would be Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESNU. The championship is Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
ORANGE STRONG IN '13-14
• An aggressive non-conference schedule, paired with a challenging ACC slate has helped the Orange achieve a No. 20 ranking in the latest official NCAA RPI ratings, released on March 3.
• The Sagarin/CBN Ratings have SU 16th with the No. 16 strength-of-schedule.
• 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 five wins over RPI top-50 teams, including No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 17 Saint Joseph's.
• Seven of SU's eight losses are to teams in the RPI top-25.
AN ORANGE WIN WOULD...
• ...be its first ACC Tournament victory.
• ...give SU 22 or more wins for the fifth-straight season and sixth time in Quentin Hillsman's eight seasons as head coach.
• ...make it five straight seasons with at least one conference tournament win.
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
• Syracuse enters postseason play on roll, winners of four in a row. The Orange has not just been winning, but winning big, outscoring its final four opponents by an average of 21.5 points.
• SU's defense has been suffocating, forcing an average of 18.8 turnovers and recording 10.5 steals in the four games, while holding its opponents to 42.1 percent shooting and 46.3 points per game.
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 on Dec. 23.
• The Orange debuted in the AP poll on Dec. 2 at No. 22 and was ranked for four-straight weeks.
SYKES NAMED ALL-ACC
• In its inaugural season in the ACC, Syracuse's Brittney Sykes became the Orange's first-ever All-ACC honoree on Tuesday when she was named to the all-conference second team in voting conducted by the ACC Blue Ribbon Panel.
• SU's leading scorer at 17.1 ppg, the sophomore guard was one of just four underclassmen named to either the 10-member first team or five-member second team.
• It is Sykes' second all-conference honor. She was named BIG EAST All-Freshman Team last season.
SENIOR CLASS TO REMEMBER
• Syracuse's senior class of Phylesha Bullard, Rachel Coffey, Shakeya Leary and La'Shay Taft were honored on Senior Day vs. Pittsburgh on Feb. 23.
• The class currently has the second-most wins in program history with 92, trailing only last year's seniors (96 wins). They are 92-41 (.692) overall.
• The class has gone to three-straight postseasons, including last years NCAA Tournament appearance.
• They have been at their best at the Carrier Dome, going 54-12 (.818) at home, representing over half the program's all-time wins in the facility (101).
BRINGING THE PRESSURE
• With an aggressive fullcourt press and trapping 2-3 zone defense, the Orange boasts the best turnover margin in the ACC (15th nationally) at +5.5 and has produced an average of 21.8 points per game this season off its opponents' 19.8 turnovers per game.
• SU has scored 20 or more points off turnovers in seven of its last 11 games, most recently scoring 25 in the regular season finale at Wake Forest, a game in which SU recorded 15 steals in the 10-point win.
• Syracuse scored a season-high 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
• SU features some of the top ball-handling play-makers in the ACC. The Orange has had its three lowest turnover totals in its last four games: a season-low six at BC, seven at Miami, and nine vs. Pittsburgh.
• Point guard Rachel Coffey has the ACC's best assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play at 3.0 (63-21) and overall at 2.2 (120-55).
• Brianna Butler has the second-best ratio on the team at 1.9 (77-40), which would be fourth-best in the ACC but she falls just below the assists minimum to qualify.
• SU surrenders just 14.1 ppg off its turnovers, resulting in a +7.7 margin in points per game off turnovers.
CRASHING THE GLASS
• SU is second in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game at 16.5, grabbing 40 percent of the opportunities.
• The Orange has turned the offensive boards into 13.2 second-chance points per game.
• Last season, SU led the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (17.6), ranked second in total rebounds per game (44.0), and was fourth in rebounding margin (+5.5).
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