10 Orange Storylines For ACC Quarterfinals

No. 3 seed Syracuse faces No. 6 seed Florida State in the ACC Quarterfinals on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network. Here are 10 storylines to watch ahead of the Orange's postseason opener:

1. Orange Earn Double-Bye in ACC Tournament in Quest for First ACC Title
Syracuse enjoyed a bid straight to the quarterfinals in the ACC tournament thanks to its top-4 seeding in the conference at No. 3. This year marks the second time since joining the ACC that the Orange have earned this privilege. Last time the Orange had a double bye was in 2016 (3-seed). Syracuse advanced to the finals where the Orange lost to 1-seed Notre Dame, 68-57, on March 6, 2016.

SU is searching for its first ACC Championship in program history this weekend, having reached the title game just once before (2016). In that game, No. seed 3 Syracuse fell to top-seeded Notre Dame, 68-57. Later that postseason, the Orange would make a run to the NCAA National Championship game, defeating Kelsey Plum's Washington Huskies in the semifinal before losing to UConn in the title game. Syracuse has made the ACC semifinals three times in history, most recently in 2021 after upsetting No. 4 seed Florida State in the quarterfinals.
Syracuse last won a conference tournament championship in 1988 (BIG EAST), which was Coach Sue Ludwig's senior season and the year Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack was sidelined with a knee injury and took a medical redshirt.

2. Felisha Legette-Jack Named ACC Coach of the Year
In just her second season at the helm, Legette-Jack was named ACC Coach of the Year on Tuesday. The Syracuse native and 1989 SU graduate led the Orange to a 23-6 regular season record that tied the program records for wins (23), conference wins (13), and ACC road wins (6). Coach Jack is the first Syracuse basketball coach, men's or women's, to be named ACC Coach of the Year, and is the third SU basketball coach to earn their respective conference Coach of the Year honors. The Orange have been ranked in the Associated Press poll every week since Week 9, ranking as high as No. 17 (Week 16).

3. Series History vs. Florida State
The Orange and the Seminoles both have six wins against each other in the all-time series, last facing off inside the JMA Wireless Dome on Jan. 18. Four of 'Cuse's six wins have come inside of the Loud House. FSU and Syracuse have met once before in the ACC Tournament in 2021. A Kamilla Cardoso buzzer-beater propelled the Orange to the quarterfinal win.

4 . Dyaisha Fair Closing in on Fourth All-Time
Fifth-year guard Dyaisha Fair currently sits fifth all-time on the NCAA Women's Division I Career Scoring List, passing Brittney Griner in Fair's final regular season game inside the Dome. She sits at 3,328 points coming into the ACC Tournament, 65 points behind Jackie Stiles (Missouri State, 1997-2001) in fourth place. Fair is the 16th player in women's basketball Division I history to score 3,000 career points, and just the 26th out of all DI basketball players. Fair earned All-ACC First Team honors for the second-straight season on Tuesday after averaging 22.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals per game this season. She finished runner-up in ACC Player of the Year voting and is the fastest player in program history to score 1,000 points at Syracuse (50 games).

5. Fresh Faces in the ACC Tournament
The Orange travel to Greensboro with four freshmen on the squad; guards Sophie Burrows and Madeline Potts, center Marilena Triantafylli, and Forward Alyssa Latham. Latham was the first ESPN Hoop Gurls Top-100 recruit for Coach Jack and has made her presence known in her rookie season. She is averaging 8.8 points per game and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game in 29 appearances. Latham was one of five conference freshmen to be named to the ACC All-Freshman team on Tuesday, the first Orange to earn such honors since 2021 (Kamilla Cardoso). Her 1.4 blocks per game are good enough for eighth-best in the ACC and the only freshman in the Top-10. Guard Sophie Burrows has also contributed to the Orange appearing in 27 games with three starts. The freshman from Lower Plenty, Victoria, Australia has 21 three-pointers on the season, most recently a corner-three to take the lead for the Orange during overtime against No. 12 NC State in the final regular season game.

6 . Last Meeting against FSU
Syracuse last faced Florida State on Jan. 18 inside the JMA Wireless Dome, which saw an 18-point 'Cuse comeback to take the 79-73 win. The Orange outscored the Seminoles 25-11 in the fourth quarter after entering the final 10 minutes trailing by eight, using a 12-4 run to close out the victory. All eight players that checked into the game for SU put points on the board, led by Fair's 31-point performance. Fair made nine treys from beyond the arc in the comeback win, the most by a single player in program history. Both freshmen Latham and Burrows had over five rebounds in the contest.

7. Last Time the Orange Were in The Quarterfinals
SU will face the 'Noles on Friday in familiar territory, as they were Orange's last ACC quarterfinals opponent (2021). Syracuse's freshman center Kamilla Cardoso scored with one second left to cap a spectacular 'Cuse rally and push the Orange to the win, 68-67. Cardoso led the team in the contest with 16 points, with four other Orange players scoring in double digits. The last-second victory is the only matchup in Tournament history between the two schools, with SU coming into Friday's game leading the series 1-0.

8. All is Fair in the Fourth Quarter
Dyaisha Fair is Syracuse's go-to player in a time of need. She's assisted or scored on multiple of the Orange in key late-game moments this season. During ACC play, she is averaging 13.0 points in the second half. More impressively, 9.05 of those points come in the fourth quarter. In SU's last matchup against Florida State, Fair had 11 points in the final 10 minutes, including 3 three-pointers to help set a program record with nine made treys in a game by a single player.

9. Coach Jack Seeking Her First Win in ACC Tournament
Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack is 0-1 in ACC Tournament appearances, losing in the second-round last year to No. 8 NC State, 83-58. The Orange were 9-9 in ACC play last season, earning a 9-seed in the tournament. Just a year later, Coach Jack has led her team to a 13-5 conference record, tying program records in conference wins (13) and ACC road wins (6). The Orange enter the tournament as a top-4 seed for the first time since 2016.

10. Syracuse is without starting center Izabel Varejão
Syracuse will be without starting center, graduate student Izabel Varejão for the ACC Tournament. Varejão did not travel to Greensboro, N.C. with the team due to illness. She missed two months due to concussion symptoms this season and returned to action in late February. In her last game, she scored a career-high 14 points and tied her career-best seven rebounds in an overtime loss at #12 NC State.

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Sophie Burrows

Dyaisha Fair

Alyssa Latham

Madeline Potts

Marilena Triantafylli

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