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Syracuse women’s basketball fell out of the AP Top 25 rankings following losses to No. 1 Louisville and unranked Clemson this week. The Orange were No. 23 in last week’s rankings and beat an unranked North Carolina team on Tuesday, but then lost two consecutive games on Thursday and Sunday, respectively. 

This is the first time this season that the Orange have not been ranked. They opened at No. 23 in the preseason poll, before jumping as high as No. 18 and then falling as low as No. 24. Syracuse has played only 10 games this season, same as No. 3 UConn which has the second-fewest in this week’s top 25 rankings. 

Against Louisville, Syracuse shot only 39% from the field and 15% from beyond the arc, but still managed to keep the game within reach for the better part of three quarters. Postgame, head coach Quentin Hillsman said it was a “tremendous outing by our team just to stay in striking distance” but that the Orange needed to do a better job of making shots. 

Syracuse started slow Sunday but overcame a 25-point halftime deficit against the Tigers. The Orange forced overtime, but then collapsed, allowing 16 points in five minutes and scoring only seven. 

Louisville and NC State now remain the only two Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the AP Top 25. Syracuse has a rematch with Louisville on Valentine’s Day, and is scheduled to play the Wolfpack on Feb. 28 for SU’s final regular season game. 

The Orange are next scheduled to play back-to-back home games against Pittsburgh and Notre Dame on Jan. 28 and Jan. 31 before traveling to Georgia Tech on Feb. 2.

Published on January 25, 2021 at 1:51 pm

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