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It took five games — its worst start to conference play since going 0-7 to begin Big East play in the 2005-06 season — but Syracuse notched its first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the year over Miami Sunday.

The message after the game? This is only the beginning.

“We’re getting better, stick with us,” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said postgame. “We got a long way to go, but we’re taking baby steps.”

The Orange’s early ACC skid was marked by injuries to Kyra Wood, their top rebounder and second-leading scorer. It included shooting struggles from top-scorer Georgia Woolley. And it featured a difficult opening schedule.

SU currently has a 1-4 ACC record, tied for 13th in the standings with four other schools, and must finish in the top 15 of 18 teams to qualify for the ACC Tournament. It’s already tied its regular-season conference loss tally from last season. But three of those defeats came against top-30 NET-ranked teams — Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Florida State. The other, against SMU (99th), occurred off an overtime heartbreaker.

“We got to get better. Flat out, got to get better,” Legette-Jack said after SU’s loss to SMU Thursday. “There is no second-place trophy. We didn’t learn anything, because we didn’t come through. This is a game we should’ve came through, and we didn’t.”

The road to reaching a second straight NCAA Tournament looks steep. So far this season, the Orange are 0-5 in Quad 1 games and 0-2 in Quad 2 contests, placing 88th in the NET rankings. However, they have six Quad 1 and three Quad 2 matchups remaining to bolster their resume.

Syracuse hosted then-No. 10 Notre Dame to begin ACC play on Dec. 10. Despite keeping the Fighting Irish within one point after one quarter and only trailing by seven at halftime, ND separated itself from SU with a 16-point third-quarter advantage, leading to a 93-62 win.

“We showed we can play a half with the No. 10 team in the country,” Legette-Jack said postgame. “We got to keep putting the halves together and keep fighting.”

In SU’s next ACC game, on Jan. 2 at then-No. 13 Georgia Tech, a 28-15 second-quarter deficit plagued it. After the score was tied at 16-16 following the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets’ lead ballooned to 44-31 at halftime, plaguing Syracuse for the rest of the way.

On top of SU’s 85-68 loss to GT, Wood suffered a head injury late in the contest. The senior was sidelined for Syracuse’s next two games while in concussion protocol.

Syracuse dropped to 0-3 in conference play with an 85-73 defeat at Florida State on Jan. 5 without Wood. Instead of focusing on the game’s negatives — Woolley shooting 2-for-16, a 28-17 FSU advantage in the third quarter and allowing 85 points — Legette-Jack highlighted the positives.

Legette-Jack noted SU had FSU “on the ropes.” In the first half, the Orange held the Seminoles to shoot 1-for-17 from 3. They outscored FSU by nine in the second quarter and held a three-point halftime lead. Legette-Jack also mentioned LSU transfer Angelica Velez’s career-high 10 assists, freshman Madeline Potts’ 3-for-4 3-point shooting and Journey Thompson’s 13 points.

“This was a game we really wanted to steal,” Legette-Jack added. “We didn’t get a chance to steal it.”

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Syracuse returned home versus SMU Thursday and was favored for the first time in ACC play this season. SU hung close for the entire contest and could’ve sealed it in regulation, but Nya Robertson’s game-winner in overtime sank SU to 0-4 in ACC action.

“We lacked discipline down the stretch,” Legette-Jack said of SU’s performance postgame. “We got to get smarter. We can put you in the position to win, but at the end of the day, players got to show up. And we didn’t show up today.”

On Sunday, Wood returned for Syracuse, propelling the Orange to their first ACC win, a 66-61 victory over Miami. The Buffalo native recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Woolley said Wood’s return bolstered her confidence to keep shooting since she knew the forward would collect offensive rebounds. Wood grabbed five offensive boards, as the Orange outrebounded the Hurricanes 52-40.

The rebounding dominance follows a positive trend for Syracuse. The Orange are first in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (16.6) and are second in rebounds per contest (44.2) against ACC opponents.

On offense, however, shooting and turnovers have afflicted SU. The Orange are 140th in effective field goal percentage, scoring only one point per at an ACC second-worst field goal percentage (36.5%). SU has also averaged the sixth-most turnovers in the ACC with 18.3 per game.

After downing 79th-ranked Miami, the opposition rises again Thursday at Louisville (40th in the NET). Three of SU’s next four games are on the road, as it follows the contest at the Cardinals with a trip to Chestnut Hill to meet Boston College (81st) this Sunday. Then, SU hosts No. 21 NC State on Jan. 23 and visits Clemson (52nd) Jan. 26.

Syracuse’s remaining chances for a Quad 1 win, looking to get in the March Madness conversation, include its contests against Louisville and NC State; visiting Stanford and No. 18 Cal; and facing No. 14 North Carolina and No. 16 Duke. Games at BC, Clemson and Virginia Tech are considered Quad 2 opportunities, though both the Eagles and the Hokies are just outside Quad 1 territory.

According to HerHoopStats, SU is projected to go 5-8 in its final 13 regular-season games. HerHoopStats also rates SU 12th in the ACC, which would qualify it for the conference tournament. But on-court results decide where teams fall.

Now back to full strength and taking lessons from the rough start to ACC play, Legette-Jack believes Sunday’s victory can start a positive stretch for Syracuse.

“We’re building it brick by brick,” Legette-Jack said. “But it’s not as fast as we all want … We’re staying steadfast and ready to continue to take on a stingy Louisville team on Thursday.”

Published on January 13, 2025 at 10:34 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal