Syracuse Women's Basketball: Should Syracuse Have Scheduled UConn?

In Breanna Stewart's last year in college basketball, UConn wanted to schedule a homecoming game for her at Syracuse, where she grew up. Syracuse refused to schedule the highly touted Huskies at home.

Would we have won it?

No, probably not. The Connecticut Huskies are one of the best College Women's Basketball teams ever, and look unstoppable right now. But it's not about the wins and loses always. It's about gaging interest with the fans and community. If the Syracuse Orange plays the No. 1 team in the nation that would certainly help out some of our attendance issues, even for just one game. Hopefully, it could spark more interest in the team and raise attendance, even minimally, for the rest of the season.

SU ranks last in attendance in the ACC. We averaged only 710 total attendance per game last season. That is truly unacceptable for a city and university that regularly seats at least 20,000 for the men's basketball team. Not to mention a women's team that is so successful as of late and has been ranked frequently in the past few years.

Instead of playing at Syracuse, UConn scheduled an away game at Colgate. Colgate sold out with 1,750 fans at a non-conference game.

Additionally, the undisputed best player in the nation plays for UConn, Breanna Stewart. She is a local, growing up in Syracuse. Stewart is in her senior year at UConn and is expected to go No. 1 overall in this upcoming WNBA draft. Stewart has played against Syracuse during her tenure at UConn but it was a home game for the Huskies. She still has not played in the Carrier Dome as a Husky, and probably will not

Finally, Syracuse would have nothing to lose by scheduling this game. For women's basketball, one loss, especially to the top team in the nation, does not derail a season like it might in football. However if Syracuse would have been able to mount an epic upset, it would go down as the greatest win in Syracuse women's basketball history.