1. Men’s basketball upsets Notre Dame, beats ACC foe Georgia Tech

Syracuse enjoyed a perfect week against a pair of ACC opponents, soundly beating No. 25 Notre Dame, 81-66, on Thursday and scraping by Georgia tech, 60-57, on Saturday.

Trevor Cooney led the way again against the Fighting Irish, finishing with a team-best 22 points against UND. He’s now scored 66 points in his last three contests against Notre Dame, and is shooting at a 53 percent clip in those games. Beat writer Jesse Dougherty offered up his thoughts on what we learned in the upset win, including some thoughts on Tyler Lydon holding the key to open up the Orange’s offense.

After Jim Boeheim complained about “horrific” conference scheduling, SU played host again two days later to the Yellow Jackets. Malachi Richardson rose to the occasion and knocked down key free throws in the fourth quarter, and Syracuse received a spark off the bench from Frank Howard.

The Orange’s only game this week comes against Virginia Tech at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

MORE: What we learned from Syracuse’s 60-57 win over Georgia Tech

2. Men’s lacrosse season inches closer with first scrimmages

Syracuse will roll out a heavily revamped team this year after graduating nearly all of its starting lineup from last year. The Orange took the field on Saturday for its first organized games of 2016 and beat Hofstra, 9-8, and Le Moyne, 10-1, in shortened scrimmages closed to the public.

Ben Williams appears recovered from his offseason shoulder procedure, and SU’s coaching staff is already toying with the idea of leaving him on the field longer during offensive possession. Last year he often departed the field in favor of an offense-first midfield group, all of which graduated in 2015. Dylan Donahue remains as the primary holdover from last year, in which he led the team in goals, but will be joined by two new faces on the first-line attack.

Liam Sheehan | Asst. Photo Editor

 

3. Women’s basketball splits a pair of conference games to remain in thick of ACC standings

Coming off a 28-point loss to Notre Dame on Jan. 21, Syracuse couldn’t of gotten off to a worse start in its next game against No. 14 Louisville. The Orange sunk itself into a 29-point first-half deficit, and never recovered in its 71-53 loss. There were lapses all over the roster for SU, but compounded mistakes by centers Briana Day, Bria Day and Julia Chandler helped put the game out of reach quicker.

The Orange rebounded two days later on Wednesday against Boston College, escaping with a 62-61 win. Veteran guards Brittney Sykes and Brianna Butler combined to pour in 35 points, but couldn’t hold off another slow start as the Eagles marched out to a 13-point first-quarter lead. But SU flipped the script by outscoring BC, 25-11, in the second quarter and Briana Day corralled key rebounds in the fourth quarter to allow the Orange to put in the go-ahead point on its last possession.

Quick hits

1. Terrel Hunt is on a mission to reclaim a sixth year of eligibility to play football.

2. Syracuse beat its arch rivals in overtime on Saturday.

3. Boeheim publicly addressed his support and appreciation for Dwayne “Pearl” Washington.

 

 

Published on January 31, 2016 at 12:01 am

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman