Even with back-to-back double-digit losses to #7 Notre Dame and Georgia Tech, it’s hard not to take a brief moment to commend the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team (13-6, 4-4) for what the Program offers done in year one of the Felisha Legette-Jack era.
That starts with announcing that Syracuse was considered the “Next Four Out” team in a previous edition of ESPN’s latest bracket projection. Georgia Tech’s loss last week eliminated the orange from the most recent version. Given Orange’s lack of continuity and reliance on transfers from other programs this season, it’s a notable step in the right direction for a team lacking one thing in 2021-2022.
As always, we take a weekly look at the past week of women’s basketball in Syracuse and what’s going on elsewhere in the NCAAW world.
But first…
Removal of the bracket
Note: The 2023 NCAA Tournament Bracket scheduled by ESPN will be updated on Friday, January 20 at 11:00 a.m. EST.
That’s right: It’s time to unveil a new category that Orange is expected to at least be in the mix to sneak into the NCAA tournament. Syracuse is currently 67th in the NET rankings with three wins against top 100 programs. Orange’s upcoming schedule will also give the team plenty of opportunities to improve their CV. To this point, only four of Syracuse’s 19 games this season are against top 100 NET programs.
However, at the end of the regular season, which includes four ranked conference games (#7 Notre Dame, #12 Virginia Tech, #13 Duke, and #17 North Carolina), the Orange will be up against a highly competitive 10-game list . and four additional competitions against scheduled NCAA tournament-bound programs (Virginia, Louisville, Florida State and Miami). For context, here are the CVs of these opponents:
The upcoming Syracuse women’s basketball schedule
| Opponent | game date | overall balance | conference recording | NET ranking | Top 25 Net Wins | Top 50 Net Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | game date | overall balance | conference recording | NET ranking | Top 25 Net Wins | Top 50 Net Wins |
| #13 Duke | January 22 (Street) | 6-1 | 16-2 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Virginia | January 26 (home) | 3-5 | 14-5 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisville | January 29 (home) | 6-2 | 15-6 | 32 | 2 | 2 |
| #12 Virginia Tech | 2 February (Street) | 5-3 | 15-3 | 23 | 2 | 6 |
| #17 North Carolina | 9 February (home) | 4-3 | 13-5 | 20 | 5 | 6 |
| #7 Our Lady | February 12 (Street) | 6-1 | 15-2 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| State of Florida | 16 February (Street) | 6-2 | 17-4 | 16 | 2 | 5 |
| Miami | February 19 (home) | 5-3 | 12-7 | 45 | 2 | 2 |
Translation: Winning some of these matchups will give the Oranges many CV advantages.
Anyway, onto the bracket. Parity remains a key theme of this year’s women’s basketball season. ACC, Pac-12 and SEC are all tied for most teams expected to compete in the 2023 NCAA tournament (eight programs). To enter the tournament, Syracuse must have some (or even most) of the following benchmarks: top-half record in the ACC, a place in the conference semifinals or finals, and at least two AP Top 25 wins.
I’ll have a detailed article on where Syracuse needs to finish in its upcoming conference, but without a doubt Syracuse needs to be in the top half of the ACC. If I were to rank all teams in the conference based on their likelihood of receiving a tournament bid, it would look something like this:
No Questions Asked: Notre Dame, Duke, North Carolina, State of Florida
Firmly tied to tournaments: Louisville, Virginia Tech, NC State
The Dark Horses: Virginia, Miami
From the outside to the inside: SyracuseClemson, Boston College
The Orange would have to make a leap to that next level to have a puncher’s chance of earning a spot in a March Madness game.
The orange this week and next week
Note: All team records include games up to and including Saturday 21 January.
Syracuse have lost two games in a row since our last update due to some late game collapses, first at home to #7 Notre Dame and then away to Georgia Tech.
This week, the Orange will bid for a road game against #13 Duke on Sunday afternoon before returning to the Dome for a Thursday night matchup against Virginia.
The TNIAAM Orange Player of the Week
This week’s winner: Dyaisha Fair
Fair was a solid plus in a week of disappointment for the Orange as she became the only Syracuse player to hit double digits (15.5 PPG) in both of the team’s games last week. I’d like to give a quick shout out to Kyra Wood (25 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 1.5 BPG), whose stats don’t accurately reflect her improvement in color at either end of the court. With that in mind, Fair proved crucial in keeping Syracuse afloat in the last two games.
TNIAAM Orange Player of the Week Trackers: Dyaisha Fair x3, Teisha Hyman x1, Georgia Woolley x1, Dariauna Lewis x1
ACC Power Rankings and a look at the conference
Note: All team records include games up to and including Saturday 21 January.
As usual, here’s where things stand in the ACC when it comes to this week’s games:
2022–2023 ACC Women’s Basketball Rankings
| ACC team | Current conference ranking | Last week’s conference ranking | conf recording | overall balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC team | Current conference ranking | Last week’s conference ranking | conf recording | overall balance |
| duke | 1 | 1 | 5-0 | 15-1 |
| Our lady | 2 | 3 | 6-1 | 15-2 |
| State of Florida | 3 | 2 | 6-2 | 17-4 |
| Louisville | 4 | 5 | 6-2 | 15-6 |
| Virginia Tech. | 5 | 7 | 5-3 | 15-3 |
| Miami | 6 | 6 | 5-3 | 12-7 |
| North Carolina | 7 | 10 | 4-3 | 13-5 |
| NC state | 8th | 8th | 4-4 | 14-5 |
| Syracuse | 9 | 4 | 4-4 | 13-6 |
| Virginia | 10 | 11 | 3-5 | 14-5 |
| Boston College | 11 | 9 | 3-5 | 13-8 |
| Clemson | 12 | 12 | 3-5 | 12-8 |
| guard forest | 13 | 13 | 2-6 | 11-8 |
| georgia tech | 14 | 14 | 1-7 | 10-9 |
| Pittsburgh | fifteen | fifteen | 0-7 | 7-11 |
Heading into the weekend, here are some games to watch with the ACC programs this week:
- Syracuse (13-6, 4-4) @ #13 Duke (16-2, 6-1) early Sunday afternoon
- #20 NC State (14-5, 4-4) @ Louisville (15-6, 6-2) early Sunday afternoon
- Virginia (14-5, 4-3) @ #7 Notre Dame (15-2, 7-1) on Sunday afternoon
- Florida State (17-4, 6-1) @ #7 Notre Dame (15-2, 7-1) on Thursday night
- #12 Virginia Tech (15-3, 5-3) @ #13 Duke (16-2, 6-1) on Thursday night
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TNIAAM Community: Do you think Syracuse has a shot at an NCAA tournament spot? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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