No, it's not a second chance for Mike Pegues and his merry band of MBB ballers to get a shot at Buddy and his bunch today...
# 4 University of Louisville women's basketball plays their final game in their three-game road swing at Syracuse on Sunday afternoon. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. ET and will be available on Bally Sports South and 790-AM WKRD
Host Syracuse enters Sunday’s game with a 9-11 record. The Orange are 2-8 in ACC play with their two conference wins coming against Clemson 86-46 and over Pitt 80-72. Both wins were at Syracuse.
Arguably their best win of the year is a 97-91 win over Ohio State. The Orange check in at fourth in the ACC with 73.7 points per game, but they're allowing 70.5 points allowed per game rank and that's last in the league.
If the ACC Tournament was starting today, SU would be the #10 seed and play opening day against #15 seed Virginia
On the bright side, Syracuse's 10.7 steals per game lead the ACC, while their 8.0 3-point field goals made per game rank third. They are shooting 79.5 from the free throw line, which leads the league and ranks sixth in the country.
It's a balanced scoring scenario for acting head coach Vonn Read's Syracuse squad. They have five double-digit scorers, led by Teisha Hyman’s 15.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the ACC. They also feature the sister act of Chrislyn Carr’s 14.2, which ranks ninth and Christianna Carr (12.9 ppg). Naje Murray (11.9 ppg) and Alaysia Styles (10.6 ppg) also average double figures.
Hyman leads the ACC with 2.5 steals per game and ranks third with 4.3 assists per game. Christianna Carr is shooting 37.4 percent from deep, which ranks fourth in the ACC, and her 2.2 3-point makes per game rank sixth.
The Cards previously met Syracuse in the KFC YUM! Center on Jan. 13, 2022. It was a big night for Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith, who each ended up with 20 points.
Van Lith nailed a couple of big baskets to lead a game-clinching 9-0 run in the final minutes and lead Louisville to a 84-71. win. The Orange gave UofL a battle and tied the game at 62 early in the fourth quarter but it was the Cards from that point on. Smith and Van Lith hit consecutive threes to give the Cards a 68-64 edge and Van Lith made another basket before Olivia Cochran followed with a three-point play to make it 73-66 with 3 minutes remaining. Van Lith stayed hot, adding another jumper and Emily Engstler cashed in on two free throws for a 77-66 advantage en route to the 84-71 win
The Cards are playing their fourth game in eight days. Syracuse knocked off Pitt last Sunday in the Carrier Dome 80-72 and then traveled to Miami where they fell in Thursday action 71-65.
Will Smith and Van Lith continue the hot hands against the Orange? The previous match between the Cards and Orange was the second-to-last appearance for Norika Konno, who has been M.I.A. with an unspecified illness and the Cards guard is not in Syracuse for today's game.
UofL is 16-7 in the overall series vs. Syracuse and The Cards have won the last four meetings. Louisville has won 10 out of the 12 meetings since both programs joined the ACC. In those 10 ACC wins, the Cardinals have outscored the Orange by an average of 15.3 points.
However, Louisville is 4-5 all-time at the Carrier Dome and 2-1 since joining the ACC. Louisville fell 51-49 on Feb. 9. 2020, the last time the two teams squared off in Syracuse. Jaz Jones and Dana Evans combined for 28 points against then head coach Quentin Hillsman's squad but ran into an on-fire Kiara Lewis, who had 24 points in 39 minutes. Current Card Emily Engstler was on the Syracuse roster then and had six assists, eight rebounds and nine points against UofL. Louisville was #6 in the nation at the time and was 21-3 overall.
Engstler will have a fairly sizable fan base in the Dome for today's game -- reports are over 50 family members and friends are expected to attend and watch the New York, NY native play. Only one player (Hyman) remains on the Syracuse roster out of the eight that played for the Cuse in the Feb., 9th 2020 matchup -- the rest have either graduated or transferred to other schools.
Let's hope the Cards can come out strong and put together four solid quarters today in chilly Syracuse. Syracuse's largest attendance for home games this season came early in the schedule when 3345 watched Notre Dame throttle the Orange 82-56 back on Nov. 14th., 2021.
--sonja--
# 4 University of Louisville women's basketball plays their final game in their three-game road swing at Syracuse on Sunday afternoon. The game will tip off at 12 p.m. ET and will be available on Bally Sports South and 790-AM WKRD
Host Syracuse enters Sunday’s game with a 9-11 record. The Orange are 2-8 in ACC play with their two conference wins coming against Clemson 86-46 and over Pitt 80-72. Both wins were at Syracuse.
Arguably their best win of the year is a 97-91 win over Ohio State. The Orange check in at fourth in the ACC with 73.7 points per game, but they're allowing 70.5 points allowed per game rank and that's last in the league.
If the ACC Tournament was starting today, SU would be the #10 seed and play opening day against #15 seed Virginia
On the bright side, Syracuse's 10.7 steals per game lead the ACC, while their 8.0 3-point field goals made per game rank third. They are shooting 79.5 from the free throw line, which leads the league and ranks sixth in the country.
It's a balanced scoring scenario for acting head coach Vonn Read's Syracuse squad. They have five double-digit scorers, led by Teisha Hyman’s 15.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the ACC. They also feature the sister act of Chrislyn Carr’s 14.2, which ranks ninth and Christianna Carr (12.9 ppg). Naje Murray (11.9 ppg) and Alaysia Styles (10.6 ppg) also average double figures.
Hyman leads the ACC with 2.5 steals per game and ranks third with 4.3 assists per game. Christianna Carr is shooting 37.4 percent from deep, which ranks fourth in the ACC, and her 2.2 3-point makes per game rank sixth.
The Cards previously met Syracuse in the KFC YUM! Center on Jan. 13, 2022. It was a big night for Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith, who each ended up with 20 points.
Van Lith nailed a couple of big baskets to lead a game-clinching 9-0 run in the final minutes and lead Louisville to a 84-71. win. The Orange gave UofL a battle and tied the game at 62 early in the fourth quarter but it was the Cards from that point on. Smith and Van Lith hit consecutive threes to give the Cards a 68-64 edge and Van Lith made another basket before Olivia Cochran followed with a three-point play to make it 73-66 with 3 minutes remaining. Van Lith stayed hot, adding another jumper and Emily Engstler cashed in on two free throws for a 77-66 advantage en route to the 84-71 win
The Cards are playing their fourth game in eight days. Syracuse knocked off Pitt last Sunday in the Carrier Dome 80-72 and then traveled to Miami where they fell in Thursday action 71-65.
Will Smith and Van Lith continue the hot hands against the Orange? The previous match between the Cards and Orange was the second-to-last appearance for Norika Konno, who has been M.I.A. with an unspecified illness and the Cards guard is not in Syracuse for today's game.
UofL is 16-7 in the overall series vs. Syracuse and The Cards have won the last four meetings. Louisville has won 10 out of the 12 meetings since both programs joined the ACC. In those 10 ACC wins, the Cardinals have outscored the Orange by an average of 15.3 points.
However, Louisville is 4-5 all-time at the Carrier Dome and 2-1 since joining the ACC. Louisville fell 51-49 on Feb. 9. 2020, the last time the two teams squared off in Syracuse. Jaz Jones and Dana Evans combined for 28 points against then head coach Quentin Hillsman's squad but ran into an on-fire Kiara Lewis, who had 24 points in 39 minutes. Current Card Emily Engstler was on the Syracuse roster then and had six assists, eight rebounds and nine points against UofL. Louisville was #6 in the nation at the time and was 21-3 overall.
Engstler will have a fairly sizable fan base in the Dome for today's game -- reports are over 50 family members and friends are expected to attend and watch the New York, NY native play. Only one player (Hyman) remains on the Syracuse roster out of the eight that played for the Cuse in the Feb., 9th 2020 matchup -- the rest have either graduated or transferred to other schools.
Let's hope the Cards can come out strong and put together four solid quarters today in chilly Syracuse. Syracuse's largest attendance for home games this season came early in the schedule when 3345 watched Notre Dame throttle the Orange 82-56 back on Nov. 14th., 2021.
--sonja--
