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Syracuse has lost its last five games, falling off from the six game winning streak during its mostly nonconference slate in December. During the Orange’s win streak, they picked up their only conference win of the year, defeating Clemson 86-46.

But now SU is back under .500, heading to the Edmund P. Joyce Center in South Bend, Indiana, an arena where it has never won in 10 meetings. To keep its postseason hopes alive, Syracuse needs to record its second ACC victory of the season, but a tough task awaits against a ranked Fighting Irish team.

Here is everything you need to know before Syracuse (8-9, 1-6 ACC) heads to No. 20 Notre Dame (14-4, 5-2 ACC):

All-time series

Notre Dame leads 35-3.

Last time they played

The two sides faced in Syracuse’s second game of the season, following its blowout win over Monmouth. Following Felisha Legette-Jack’s jersey retirement, the Orange opened the game trading baskets with the Fighting Irish, trailing by just six.

But the defense completely faltered at the start of the fourth quarter. In the final eight minutes, Notre Dame went on a 21-0 run, not allowing Syracuse to utilize its 1-2-2 full court press which allowed it to control the game clock against Monmouth.

The Fighting Irish completely surrounded Syracuse’s offense with its own zone, preventing players like Teisha Hyman and Chrislyn Carr from getting open. Alaysia Styles finished with 14 points, six rebounds and one block, but the loss started a streak where the Orange lost four of five games.

The Fighting Irish report

Notre Dame has won seven of its last nine games, only falling to ACC opponents Boston College and Duke during that span. The Fighting Irish defeated Pittsburgh on Sunday, led by Olivia Miles’ 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. Notre Dame shot 30.8% against the Panthers from beyond the arc as well as 95% from the free throw line.

The Fighting Irish also have five players — Maddy Westbeld, Maya Dodson, Sonia Citron, Dara Mabrey and Miles — currently averaging double-figures, all between 13 and 11. Mabrey leads the ACC from beyond the arc, shooting 51.2% throughout conference play. Defensively, UND leads the conference in blocks per game with 5.4.

How Syracuse beats Notre Dame

The reason for the Orange’s recent losses has been simple — they haven’t been able to use their speed to their advantage. Acting head coach Vonn Read shrunk Syracuse’s rotation following the injuries of Eboni Walker and Jayla Thornton, leaving the offense in the hands of Chrislyn, Najé Murray and Hyman. But the increased load has led to Chrislyn, Murray and Hyman having to preserve energy, allowing the Orange’s taller opponents to dominate with their own speed.

“When we play bigger opponents we have to rely on our speed in defense,” Hyman said. “We have to play big with more aggression.”

Syracuse was shooting nearly 50% in the third quarter the last time it played Notre Dame, but it fell back to a lackluster 15.8% from the field in the final 10 minutes. To pull out a win, the Orange need to stay consistent offensively, only taking open looks after working UND’s zone deep into the shot clock rather than attempting early as it has done recently.

Player to watch: Olivia Miles, guard, No. 5

Miles leads the entire nation in assists per game, averaging 7.7 while scoring 12.5 points per game. In the Orange’s last meeting with the Fighting Irish, the freshman almost recorded a double-double with 10 points and eight assists. She set a career-high three steals in that game as well.

Miles recorded double-digit points in all but one matchup throughout UND’s last five games. The New Jersey native kept her freshman eligibility after last season, when she averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 assists per game.

Stat to know: 1.19 assist/turnover ratio

Notre Dame has the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the ACC, which is calculated by taking the ratio of passes that resulted in an assist to total turnovers. The Fighting Irish lead the conference in assists as well, which means they will likely find holes to exploit in Syracuse’s zone defense. To prevent that from happening, the Orange might have to move to a man-to-man look for one of the first times this season.

Syracuse, on the other hand, sits at seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio around the league, with a ratio of 0.97. Notre Dame’s zone defense averages 9.28 steals per game, roughly one less than what the Orange produce. This means that SU needs to be careful when running its 5-out offense, making sure that passes inside to Styles or Christianna Carr aren’t intercepted.

Published on January 26, 2022 at 11:56 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu