Previewing Syracuse’s ACC Tournament Quarterfinal rematch vs. Louisville
Syracuse earned its first ACC Tournament win under Felisha Legette-Jack by defeating Cal 70-59 Thursday, setting up a matchup with Louisville. Courtesy of the Atlantic Coast Conference
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The monkey’s off her back. It took four years, but Felisha Legette-Jack finally won a game in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
She had a chance last year, but Syracuse blew its halftime lead to Boston College. She had a chance the year before but lost 78-65 to Florida State. And, while she technically had a chance in her first year, SU really never stood a chance against the NC State team that dominated it in its 83-58 loss.
The Orange nearly squandered this chance, too. But after watching its 21-point halftime lead dwindle to as little as four, SU managed to hold on late to defeat Cal in the ACC Tournament Second Round. Her reward? A quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 seed Louisville, which ranked No. 12 in the most recent Associated Press Poll.
Here’s everything to know about the Cardinals (25-6, 15-3 ACC) before they square off against Syracuse (23-7, 12-6 ACC):
All-time series
Louisville leads 21-7.
Last time they played
It was an atrocity to the sport of basketball. SU went the entire first quarter without scoring a field goal. The Orange, in front of their home crowd, were outscored 28-6 in the opening frame of their Feb. 8 contest against Louisville, and all six of those points came via the free-throw line.
Syracuse actually ended up outscoring Louisville 59-56 over the final three quarters of that game, but at that point, it was too little, too late. SU just wasn’t prepared to play, and it led to an 84-65 defeat. Dominique Darius was the Orange’s lone bright spot, pouring in a team-leading 22 points.
The Cardinals report
Following that aforementioned win over the Orange, Louisville didn’t exactly close out its regular season on the highest note. After losing just four of their first 26 games, the Cardinals dropped two of their final five regular-season matchups.
One of those was a 74-72 home loss to a Virginia team Syracuse handily defeated back in January, and Louisville’s most recent defeat was a 65-62 home loss to a Notre Dame team SU traded blows with fairly recently.
It’s fair to posit that those losses, as well as the fact the Cardinals may be rusty after two byes, are a good sign for SU heading into this contest. But they’re still as dangerous as any opponent in the ACC.
This year’s squad isn’t like previous Louisville teams, back when Hailey Van Lith was running roughshod over the rest of the conference and dominating the ball at all costs. Longtime head coach Jeff Walz has a much more balanced scoring attack this season.
Four Louisville players — Tajianna Roberts, Laura Ziegler, Imari Berry and Elif Istanbulluoglu — are averaging double-digit points. An additional three — Skylar Jones, Reyna Scott and Mackenly Randolph — are averaging over 7.5 points a game. None are eclipsing 12 per game. This isn’t one overpowering force. It’s more like a death by a million cuts.
How Syracuse beats Louisville
The answer is simple. Just play a good 40 minutes of basketball.
Uche Izoje made it clear after Syracuse’s win over Cal. The last two times these squads faced each other, the Cardinals punched first, and SU struggled to match their aggressiveness.
“During the first and second quarter, we didn’t bring our best,” Izoje said postgame. “Our defense was bad. We didn’t bring aggressiveness to the court.”
The third and fourth quarters, Izoje said, began to resemble Syracuse basketball. For a solid 30 minutes of play, the Orange hung right there with Louisville, and it looked like they belonged. If they make it the full 40 this time around, maybe they’ll punch a ticket to the ACC Tournament Semifinals.
Stat to know: 950
The Cardinals take a lot of shots, and they make a lot of buckets because of it. Louisville currently ranks tenth in the country with 2,069 shots attempted. It also ranks seventh in the nation with 950 made field goals, accumulating a 45.9% field-goal percentage that ranks 27th.
But that’s fine. That’s how Syracuse likes to play. The Orange entered Thursday averaging 66.9 shots per game, a mark just above Louisville’s average of 66.7. SU has the personnel to match that pace. The real question is whether it can match the Cardinals’ efficiency.
Player to watch: Laura Ziegler, forward, No. 0
It’s hard to pinpoint just one player on a Louisville team with so many weapons, but none stand out as particularly dominant. If there’s one Cardinal to focus on, though, Ziegler is probably the best bet.
The senior forward ranks second on the Cardinals with 11.1 points per game and leads them with an average of 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists. She’s an All-ACC player, a versatile force in the paint and she outscored Izoje 22-13 when these two teams last faced off. Stopping the Denmark native will be crucial for SU Friday.
