No. 18 Syracuse women’s basketball at North Carolina: TV/streaming, time, history & more

Teams: No. 18 Syracuse Orange (4-0, 1-0 ACC) at North Carolina (5-2, 0-2 ACC)

Day & Time: Thursday, December 17 at 8 p.m. EST

Location: Carmichael Arena, Chapel Hill, N.C.

TV/Streaming: ACC Network

Radio: Cuse.com

North Carolina Blog: Tar Heel Blog

Rivalry: Syracuse leads 7-4

Current Streak: The Orange have won five straight

Teams Last Meeting: ‘Cuse defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 74-56, last February.

Orange Storylines This Week:

• On December 2nd, 2020, the Syracuse Athletics staff were able to adjust and achieve a live basketball game despite a location change in under 60 minutes. This is their story.
• Syracuse improved to No. 18 (+2) in the AP Top 25 Poll and No. 16 (+2) in the USA TODAY/WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
• The NCAA announced the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will be held in one geographic area and is in preliminary talks with the city of San Antonio, Texas.
• Syracuse averages a 20.8 margin of victory this season. Kamilla Cardoso leads the team with 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. Tiana Mangakahia (13) and Kiara Lewis (11.3) are also contributing double-digit scoring for ‘Cuse this season.
• The Orange rank in the top-3 of the ACC in scoring defense (1st), margin of victory (1st), opponent field goal % (1st), total rebounds (1st), offensive rebounds (1st), defensive rebounds (1st), steals (1st), turnover margin (2nd), blocked shots (2nd), and opponent 3-pt % (3rd).
• Individually in the conference, Cardoso ranks second in blocked shots and fourth in field goal %, Mangakahia ranks first in assists and second in steals, and Lewis ranks third in steals.

Syracuse’s Last Game: The Orange defeated Miami, 69-58, on the road last Thursday night. The win marked Syracuse’s first Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the season.

Kamilla Cardoso and Tiana Mangakahia led all scorers with 14 points each. Mangakahia exited the game in the fourth quarter with a foot injury, but Coach Quentin Hillsman hopes she will be back for the North Carolina game.

“She’s walking well and moving around,” Hillsman said during media availability. “Hopefully, by the time we get to Thursday, she’ll be ready to go. She looks a whole lot better.”

Head Coaches: Syracuse - Quentin Hillsman (15th year, 308-160) | North Carolina - Courtney Banghart (2nd year, 21-16)

Opponent Coach Bio: Banghart began this season with a 270-117 career record. Prior to joining the Tar Heels last season, Banghart was the head coach of the Princeton Tigers. She was named the 2015 Naismith National Coach of the Year and 2015 Fortune Magazine World’s 50 Greatest Leaders after leading Princeton to a 30-0 regular season record. In 12 years as the Tiger’s head coach, Banghart won seven Ivy League titles and reached the NCAA Tournament eight times.

Opponent Last Year: Last season, North Carolina went 16-14 with a 7-11 ACC record. The Tar Heels fell in the first round of the conference tournament to Wake Forest.

Opponent’s Last Game: Like the Orange, North Carolina’s last game was at Miami. The Tar Heels fell to the Hurricanes, 67-63. Freshman Alyssa Ustby led UNC with a career-high 17 points off the bench.

Opponent Player’s to Watch: Senior Janelle Bailey is averaging a near double-double with 12 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. She was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, Wade Watch List, and the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List so far this season.

If Syracuse Wins: Another conference win and will prove the depth of the team without a 100% healthy Mangakahia.

If Syracuse Loses: Like I said last week, the ACC standings will likely come down to the last few games of the season, so any loss could hurt postseason seeding.