Syracuse women’s basketball: nine-seed Orange to play eight-seed NC State to begin ACC Tournament run

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team (18-11, 9-9) knows their path to the 2023 NCAA Tournament after the release of the bracket for this year’s ACC Tournament.

Syracuse, which ended the season as the ninth-seed in the conference, will take on the eighth-seeded NC State Wolfpack (19-10, 9-9) in the second round of the tournament.

Tip-off between the Orange and Wolfpack is at 2 pm EST on the ACC Network, with the game also available on the ESPN app.

Syracuse hopes to redeem itself in the ACC tournament against NC State after falling short against the Wolfpack 56-54 during its New Year’s Day matchup.

The Orange enter the ACC tournament coming off back-to-back wins against Miami and Pittsburgh to conclude the season, which has allowed Syracuse to propel into “Last Four In” status in ESPN’s latest bracketology update.

On the other side, NC State lost four of its last five games of the season but did upset #22 North Carolina 77-66 at home in overtime. The Wolfpack barely beat Pitt 68-63 on Sunday at home after the Orange demolished the Panthers by 30 points on the road Thursday night to cap off its regular season.

The winner of the eight-versus-nine-seed matchup will suit up to take on Notre Dame (24-4, 15-3), the one-seed in the ACC, on Friday afternoon.

Syracuse is 9-9 in the ACC Tournament all-time after losing 88-69 to 13-seed Clemson in the first round last season. This includes just three appearances in the tournament semifinals since the Orange joined the ACC in the 2013-2014 season. The Orange last played the Wolfpack in the conference tournament back in 2016, the last and only time Syracuse advanced to the ACC Championship Game where it lost by 9 points to (hold your breath) Notre Dame.

Notre Dame joined Duke, Virginia Tech, and Louisville as the top-four seeds in this year’s conference tournament, followed by Florida State, Miami, and North Carolina for the five through seven spots. Per the latest bracketology projection, nine ACC teams are projected to make the 2023 NCAA Tournament if the season were to end today.

And just like that, the countdown to March Madness begins.

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TNIAAM community: What are your thoughts on the seeding for this year’s ACC Tournament? Can the Orange pull a surprise on a neutral court against NC State? What will come of Syracuse’s postseason chances? Leave your thoughts down below.