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The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team has won four in a row, and seems to have gotten their season back on track in the last couple weeks. Still, that hasn’t impressed voters in the AP Poll.
In yesterday’s rankings, the SU women fell from 20th to 21st, despite beating Coppin State and Niagara by a combined 95 points over a four-day stretch. Syracuse is 8-3 on the year, but after a rough patch, they’ve righted the ship with both big and quality victories. If you just look at the poll movements on their face, Duke somehow leaped three spots from last week (from no. 21 to no. 18) just for beating Elon by seven.
The poll is also indicative of the challenges ahead for the Orange women. SU has already suffered losses to no. 12 Ohio State and no. 17 DePaul, but a whole lot more ranked opponents remain. Syracuse faces six more currently ranked teams in 2016-17, including Notre Dame (no. 2), Florida State (no. 7), Louisville (no. 8), Miami (no. 13), Duke (no. 18) and Virginia Tech (no. 24).
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The 21st-ranked Orange return to action next week -- Tuesday, December 20 -- vs. Old Dominion (4-3) in the Florida Sunshine Classic in Winter Park, Fla.