Looking for its first bowl appearance under third-year coach Dino Babers, the Syracuse University football team will face a difficult schedule but one that appears a little less daunting than last season.
In finishing 4-8 for the second consecutive year under Babers, the 2017 Orange faced 10 teams that had gone to a bowl game the previous season. This year, seven teams on SU’s schedule played in a bowl game after the 2017 season.
This year’s schedule includes six home games, including a Friday-night matchup with Louisville that will be televised nationally by one of the ESPN networks, and a non-conference game against Notre Dame Nov. 17 at Yankee Stadium. Season tickets starting at $125 are on sale now through cuse.com/tickets, (888) DOME-TIX or at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B) during regular business hours.
Fans Come Out For Orange Women’s Hoops
The Syracuse University women’s basketball team didn’t set an attendance record Jan. 21, but the Orange did improve to 10-0 at the Carrier Dome with a 70-52 romp over Atlantic Coast Conference rival Pittsburgh.
SU was pushing to break its home single-game attendance record of 11,021 set when Notre Dame visited the Dome last year. The Orange didn’t get close to the record Jan. 21 but did set a season-high with 8,126 fans.
“We are very happy with the win and it was good to come into the Dome and have a great crowd,” SU coach Quentin Hillsman said. “I thought that our university, the support staff and the people that surround our program did an excellent job of getting the Dome pretty packed and we definitely had a home-court advantage in this game. I have to give our girls a lot of credit because they bounced back from a couple road losses and played hard.”
Tiana Mangakahia and Amaya Finklea-Guity led all scorers with 14 points each, while Jasmine Nwajei had a game-high nine rebounds in 16 minutes for Syracuse (15-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC). The Orange made 10 3-pointers; it was the 11th game this season the team has made 10 or more treys.
Syracuse will continue its bid for a sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth when it faces Clemson on Thursday, Jan. 25, 7 p.m., at the Dome.