Tag: Syracuse

Notre Dame upsets UConn in prime-time game on road

It’s rare for a nonconference game to come up in January and even rarer for them to feel so good.

It’s rare for a nonconference game to come up in January and even rarer for them to feel so good. In front of a prime-time TV audience, Notre Dame had the chance to show what it could do against longtime rival UConn.

By the end, people had to question what the Irish couldn’t do. They got the signature win of their season by upsetting the Huskies, 82-67, for the second straight year, this time on their home floor. Halting the Huskies’ 13-game winning streak and spoiling a night in which they honored past national championship teams was not a bad response to the home loss to Syracuse two days earlier.

The Irish (15-4) trailed by 12 early in the second quarter but went into halftime on a 26-5 run that ended with a [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Huskies (17-4) came back to take a three-point lead late in the third quarter, but the Irish scored six unanswered to finish the frame.

The fourth quarter saw the Irish take advantage of poor Huskies shooting (2 of 12 from the field), and they outscored their hosts, 22-10, sending several Huskies fans to the exits early.

Hidalgo was held without a steal for the first time in her collegiate career, but she more than made up for that by scoring 34 points, the most for an Irish freshman, to go with 10 rebounds and six assists. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] was almost as impressive with 23 points, including three 3s.

[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 15 points, and [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] added 10 off the bench.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Photos from Notre Dame’s home loss to Syracuse

The Orange sweep the Irish for the regular season.

Notre Dame lost on the road to Syracuse on New Year’s Eve to begin ACC play. The Irish met the Orange again Thursday, this time in South Bend. The change in venue turned out not to matter. The Orange broke a 51-all tie after the third quarter to outscore the Irish, 28-14, in the fourth, and win, 79-65.

While the Irish (14-4, 5-3) are ranked 15th and the Orange (17-2, 7-1) are 22nd, the Orange have shown twice this season that they have the Irish’s number. If these programs face other again in the ACC Tournament or, God forbid, the NCAA Tournament, we know who has the edge. Unfortunately, it’s not the Irish.

Dyaisha Fair played the entire game for the Orange and led all scorers with 25 points, including four 3-pointers. Alaina Rice scored 19 points, and Georgia Woolley added 12 while coming within a rebound of a double-double. Kyra Wood grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] led the Irish with 23 points, four assists and three steals while making all eight of her free throws. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 14 points, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] had 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out. Hidalgo and Citron both picked four fouls of their own.

Here are some images from the defeat:

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Jan. 21

One player for Notre Dame is on the list.

College basketball is entering the final full week of January. Not to worry about the games ending anytime soon though. We still have a long way to go this season, and there are many things to decide. There’s no sense in missing any of it.

Here are the leaders in the ACC right now:

Notre Dame tunes up for tough week with win over Wake Forest

The Irish really will need to step up their game soon.

Notre Dame is preparing for some heavy duty this coming week. A rematch with Syracuse, which it already lost to, and a road game at UConn means good efforts will be absolutely necessary. First though, visiting Wake Forest, the worst team in the ACC was on the schedule. While the Irish won, 75-56, they didn’t always play like the better team.

The Irish (14-3, 5-2) never trailed in the game, and the final score indicated their biggest lead. However, it also never felt like the Demon Deacons (4-15, 0-7) ever really went away despite trailing by double digits the entire second half. With the difference between these teams, the Irish should have been able to leave the Deacons in the dust. That barely felt like the case.

Maybe this sounds like an overly critical analysis, but that’s only because the Irish are held to such a high standard being ranked in a tough conference. Scoring fewer than 20 points in the third and fourth quarters as they did hear won’t cut it against the Orange and Huskies. [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] needs to emphasize that to her players, or they could be in for a rude awakening over these next couple of games.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had another nice game of 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] continued to make up for lost time from earlier the season with 18 points and joining Hidalgo with four rebounds and four assists. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] scored 10 points and was a rebound short of a double-double. [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] also scored 10 coming off the bench.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Jan. 14

One Notre Dame player continues to tear up the conference.

The college basketball regular season might be half over but not the ACC season. No, we’re still getting warmed up, and the conference action continues to heat up with each passing game. The next couple of months promise to live up to the conference’s billing as one of the best in the country. You won’t want to miss it.

Here are the players to watch as of this moment:

ACC men’s basketball leaders as of Jan. 14

No Notre Dame players.

The college basketball regular season might be half over but not the ACC season. No, we’re still getting warmed up, and the conference action continues to heat up with each passing game. The next couple of months promise to live up to the conference’s billing as one of the best in the country. You won’t want to miss it.

Here are the players to watch as of this moment:

Victory over Syracuse marks UNC’s third 100-point game of season

When the UNC men’s basketball team scores 100 at home, fans score discounted Bojangles biscuits. UNC reached that mark on Saturday.

UNC’s 36-point victory over Syracuse, on Saturday afternoon, was about as dominant a win fans have watched this season.

Five separate Tar Heels scored in double figures, led by 22 points from RJ Davis. Carolina led by 22 at halftime and played EVERYONE on its roster, including sparsely-used Creighton Lebo, Duwe Farris and Rob Landry, with Landry knocking down a 3-pointer.

Major points to UNC head coach Hubert Davis for using his entire bench, something he struggled to do last year.

Carolina’s victory was the third time it reached 100 points already this season, with all 100-point wins coming at home. For those in attendance at The Dean Dome, that means discounted Bojangles biscuits.

UNC’s first 100-point contest came the week after Thanksgiving, when it held off fifth-ranked Tennessee, 100-92, in the newly-formed ACC-SEC Challenge. Carolina’s second 100-point outing came just before the New Year, with a 45-point drubbing of Charleston Southern.

The Tar Heels scored 100 points three times last year as well – against Charleston Southern, Alabama and The Citadel.

Wednesday night provides another golden opportunity for UNC to reach the century mark, with a 9 p.m. ET clash against Louisville. The Cardinals are among the ACC’s worst at 6-10, tied for last place with Georgia Tech, Pitt and Boston College.

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UNC basketball program on longest winning streak in two seasons

The UNC men’s basketball team didn’t have the best season last year. This year, Carolina’s atop the ACC and winners of its past six games.

The UNC men’s basketball team’s win over previously-undefeated Oklahoma last month was impressive, but it was just one win.

What we didn’t know, however, is that victory would start the Tar Heels’ current hot streak.

After dominating Syracuse in a 103-67 Saturday afternoon ACC clash yesterday, Carolina is now winners of its last six contests. UNC currently holds the ACC’s top spot and is keeping pace with Florida State (four) and Duke (eight), who are both on multi-game winning streaks.

Louisville comes to Chapel Hill on Wednesday, Jan. 17 for a 9 p.m. tip-off. Unless Carolina completely forgets how to play basketball, this should be an easy victory.

To compare just how dominant the Tar Heels have been this year, they’re on their longest winning streak since the 2021-2022 campaign, when they won six straight heading into the ACC Tournament Semifinals. That was the same year UNC made an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament Championship, where it built a 15-point halftime lead before Kansas staged a comeback for the ages.

Carolina’s longest winning streak last year came early on, when it beat UNCW, College of Charleston, Gardner-Webb, James Madison and University of Portland. There was hope UNC would stage a late-season run to make the NCAA tournament, but an ACC Tournament loss to UVA all but ended that hope.

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UNC Basketball vs. Syracuse: Game preview, info, prediction and more

Despite its somewhat-new history, UNC-Syracuse basketball games have always proven to be entertaining. The two schools play on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon inside the Dean Dome, two college basketball heavyweights will battle each other in a crucial ACC matchup.

UNC, in the midst of a 5-game win streak and fresh off a comfortable win against rival NC State, will be hosting Syracuse for a 12 p.m. tip.

This is the most balanced Carolina (12-3, 4-0) team I’ve watched in recent memory. It’s not just one player – like Cole Anthony – trying to do all the scoring. Instead, you’ll have RJ Davis raining threes one night, Armando Bacot recording yet another double-double, or Harrison Ingram dominating the boards in an all-around defensive effort.

The Tar Heels are winning a lot of games this season, particularly since we entered the New Year, thanks to their defense. UNC held a ranked Clemson team to 55 points last Saturday, then a high-scoring NC State team to just 54 points Wednesday night.

Offense is there every night for Carolina, but defense has impressed the most.

Even with former star sharpshooter Joe Girard transferring to Clemson in the offseason, Syracuse is doing just fine. The Orange (11-4, 2-2), who have several quality wins (LSU, Colgate, Oregon) under their belts, are coming off a 10-point road victory at Boston College.

Judah Mintz, an ACC Player of the Year candidate, leads Syracuse offensively with 18.5 points per game. JJ Starling, Chris Bell and Maliq Brown all average double figures, but only two more players average over five points per game.

The Orange have scored 80 points in five of their past seven games, meaning UNC’s defense will have another tough task.

Let’s take a deeper dive into what you should look out for Saturday.

Tar Heels jump one spot in latest NET rankings

Fresh off a comfortable win over NC State Wednesday night, the UNC men’s basketball team made a minisicule jump in the latest NET rankings.

All is looking good in Chapel Hill right now.

The UNC men’s basketball team is 12-3, undefeated atop the ACC and in the midst of a 5-game winning streak. Carolina just took down one of its in-state rivals, NC State, in a comfortable victory on Wednesday night.

It’s not the high-flying offense that has the Tar Heels playing their best basketball – it’s the newly-found, shutdown defense.

UNC’s held opponents to under 60 points in three straight games, all the more impressive against a 3-point happy Wolfpack squad and a ranked Clemson squad. Carolina played some challenging non-conference games, dealing Oklahoma its first loss and holding off a late charge from Top-10 Tennessee.

Because of all this, the Tar Heels climbed one spot to ninth in the latest NET rankings.

Unlike last year, when UNC would typically lose to strong teams, it’s taking care of those juggernauts in 2023. Carolina did drop games to Kentucky and Kansas, but look better than both teams since.

The Tar Heels get a chance to continue asserting themselves as a legit ACC threat on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Syracuse Orange at 12 p.m. ET. While beating Syracuse (73rd in NET) might not boost UNC’s ranking much, it’ll certainly help in terms of ACC Tournament positioning.

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