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Syracuse just reached its first high of Atlantic Coast Conference play. After losing four straight conference matchups, headlined by blowouts to then-No. 10 Notre Dame and then-No. 13 Georgia Tech, the Orange defeated Miami 66-61 on Sunday.

SU was propelled by Kyra Wood, who returned after being in concussion protocol for two games. Wood produced her fourth double-double of the season, totaling 18 points and 10 rebounds. The senior’s dominance also allowed top scorer Georgia Woolley to get going, finishing with 17 points.

“You gotta love when Kyra is out on the floor. Everybody fed off of her, including myself,” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said Wednesday. “I think that was the major component of what we didn’t have for the last two games. I wish I had those games back to see how good we could really be.”

On Thursday, the Orange will look to carry their momentum into a road clash with Louisville. However, that will be tough, as the Cardinals rank second in the ACC.

Here’s everything to know about Louisville (12-5, 5-1 ACC) before it faces Syracuse (7-9, 1-4 ACC) Thursday:

All-time series

Louisville leads 19-7.

Last time they played …

Despite not having much luck in the all-time series, Syracuse got the better of the Cardinals in their second matchup last season. On Feb. 11, 2024, then-No. 23 SU downed then-No. 15 Louisville 73-72. The Orange trailed 72-71 with just 33 seconds left, but Louisville’s Olivia Cochran fouled Dyaisha Fair with two seconds to go. Fair hit both free throws to hand SU the win.

Fair led all players with 29 points, while Woolley also tacked on 14 for SU. The Cardinals’ Nyla Harris posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but Syracuse held all other players to 13 points or fewer.

The Cardinals report

Despite being unranked heading into its matchup with Syracuse, Louisville has had an impressive season thus far. It’s accumulated five losses, but all of them have been to ranked teams. Additionally, the Cardinals have been dominant in ACC play, most recently defeating then-No. 13 Georgia Tech 69-60 to move to second in the conference.

In the offseason, Louisville’s main task was replacing the production of its leading scorer Kiki Jefferson, but true freshman Tajianna Roberts has stepped up in her place. The San Diego native leads the Cardinals with 12.9 points per game. Alongside her, Louisville has a balanced scoring attack, with Jayda Curry (11.0), Cochran (10.1) and Harris (9.8) all averaging over nine points per contest.

As a team, Louisville attempts the 41st-most shots in the nation (63 per game), drilling 44.4% of them, per HerHoopStats. The high volume of attempts is mostly due to its offensive rebounding prowess, as it ranks 27th of 362 Division I teams with a 37.8% offensive rebounding rate.

Defensively, it’s a different story. The Cardinals are awful at defending 3s, placing in the bottom-12 teams nationally with a 36.5% 3-point percentage allowed, along with a 43.3% hit rate from the field. Struggles on the defensive glass haven’t helped, as they only snag 22.1 defensive boards per game, the 325th-best mark in D-I, per HerHoopStats.

Joe Zhao | Design Editor

How Syracuse beats Louisville

The one area where Syracuse definitely has the edge over Louisville is rebounding. Though the Cardinals will present a challenge on the offensive glass, the Orange should dominate on the other end. Along with Louisville’s shortcomings on the defensive boards, SU ranks 14th in offensive rebounds per game with 15.7. SU needs to take advantage of this disparity on Thursday.

3-point shooting will also be key. Both teams have struggled in 3-point hit rate but also haven’t defended shots well from distance. So, SU needs to get hot from beyond the arc. Despite their recent struggles, Woolley and Sophie Burrows should see plenty of open looks, and a high success rate will allow the Orange to stay in the game.

Stat to know: 10.0, 20.9

If Louisville wins this game comfortably, forcing turnovers could be a major reason why. The Cardinals average 10 steals per contest, ranking 48th in the country, per HerHoopStats. Their opponents also commit 20.9 giveaways on average, placing in the top 25 nationally.

Conversely, Syracuse has totaled at least 17 turnovers in every ACC game this season. If Louisville forces the Orange to make consistent mistakes, it could put the game out of reach.

Player to watch: Olivia Cochran, forward, No. 44

As a senior last season, Cochran averaged a career-high 10.8 points per game while leading the team with 6.6 rebounds on average. Though her scoring has dipped slightly this year, mostly due to Louisville’s balanced attack, the Columbus, Georgia, native still puts up a third-best 10.1 points per contest.

The 6-foot-3 forward is also by far the Cardinals’ best rebounder, leading the team in defensive (4.4) and total boards per game (6.4). Though Louisville doesn’t pose much of a threat on the glass as a unit, Cochran could have some success in that area against Syracuse.

Published on January 15, 2025 at 9:03 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99