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ESPN hastily moved the NCAA Women’s Tournament selection show to 5 p.m. ET today amid the #LEAKED bracket on ESPNU. According to the #LEAKS, the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball earned a No. 3 seed in the Portland region and will face No. 14 Fordham on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in Syracuse.
We're hosting for the second time in four years!
— 'Cuse Women's Hoops (@CuseWBB) March 18, 2019
We'll play 14-seed Fordham at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. pic.twitter.com/yEa4GEXF7o
The leaks were confirmed and correct.
By earning a No. 3 seed, Syracuse will act as a host team and play games in the Carrier Dome up until the Sweet 16 round. They will host Fordham, No. 6 South Dakota State, and No. 11 Quinnipiac for the first two rounds before the tournament shifts to larger regions, and in Syracuse’s case, potentially to Portland, Ore. for the Sweet 16. Mississippi State is the 1-seed in the region, while Oregon is No. 2 and basically gets to play at home for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 should they get that far. Syracuse lost 75-73 at Oregon in the second game of the season and SU would obviously welcome a rematch.
If Syracuse can get past the first three games, they’ll face off with a Mississippi State club that’s played for (and lost) each of the last two national titles. The Bulldogs and Orange last faced off in December 21 — a 76-65 SU loss in Vegas.
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Now that we know officially where the Orange stack up, What does #OrangeNation think of the seeding, plus the potential for a rematch versus No. 2 Oregon? Comment below!
Follow Corey Crisan on Twitter @cdcrisan for coverage of SU athletics, for hot food (literally) takes, and for posts about video games, including his recent pacifist victory on ‘Apex Legends’.