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In Syracuse’s last game Sunday, a 84-70 loss to Saint Joseph’s, the Orange lost a home nonconference game for the first time since Nov. 24, 2019, when they fell to then-No. 1 Oregon. SU jumped out to a 22-14 lead after one quarter, but then the Hawks heated up from 3-point range. Ultimately, Saint Joseph’s went 14-26 (53.8%) from downtown, the most 3s SU has allowed since 2022.

The Orange don’t have much time to lick their wounds, with a ranked Maryland coming to the JMA Wireless Dome. The Terrapins defeated then-No. 11 Duke 85-80 Sunday and are unbeaten on the season. The two teams played a nailbiter last season, but both teams have seen roster turnover in the offseason.

Here’s everything you need to know about No. 11 Maryland (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) before its matchup with Syracuse (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) Wednesday:

All-time series

Maryland leads 6-0.

Last time they played …

The two teams last squared off on Nov. 19, 2023, in College Park. Then-No. 20 Maryland escaped with an 83-81 win. With 2:13 remaining, SU trailed 79-71 but embarked on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to two points. Then, the Orange forced a turnover with 10 seconds on the clock, giving them a chance to win.

But Syracuse couldn’t muster a shot to close the game. Instead, Alaina Rice turned the ball over, giving Maryland a narrow victory. The defeat was Syracuse’s only nonconference loss last season after the two squads traded leads 21 times throughout the game.

The Terrapins report

After finishing as a 10th seed last year and being eliminated in the NCAA Tournament first round — the Terrapins’ earliest exit since not making the tournament in 2010 — they bolstered their squad through the transfer portal. Rutgers transfer Kaylene Smikle led the team with 23 points in Maryland’s win over Duke. Christina Dalce (Villanova) registered a double-double versus the Blue Devils, grabbing 14 rebounds to go with 12 points.

Maryland did bring back Shyanne Sellers, its top scorer from last campaign. Sellers averaged 15.6 points, 5.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds a year ago. The Terrapins’ biggest loss was second leading scorer Jakia Brown-Turner (13.5 points per game) and fourth-leading scorer Brinae Alexander (9.2), who both graduated.

So far this season, Maryland has soundly beat UMBC 74-32 and routed Coppin State 70-47 before defeating Duke in a game where the Terrapins never trailed. Maryland has made 38.3% of its 3-pointers, good enough for 62nd in the nation while holding its opponents to a 33.9% field-goal percentage — 53rd in the country.

Hailey Hoang | Design Editor

How Syracuse beats Maryland

Syracuse hasn’t taken care of the ball well enough in its first two games. The Orange had 30 turnovers in their season-opening win over Niagara and 21 in their loss to Saint Joseph’s. SU’s current 25.5 turnovers per game is the 22nd-worst in Division I.

The game may also come down to the boards, as both teams sit in the top 40 for total rebounding rate, according to HerHoopStats. Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she wanted SU to grab 20 offensive rebounds per game. The Orange, who are averaging 15.5 offensive boards per game, may need to extend possessions to defeat the Terrapins.

Sophie Burrows has started the year strong from the perimeter, shooting 5-for-8 (62.5%), but in SU’s loss to Saint Joseph’s, the rest of the team went a combined 2-for-7 from beyond the arc. If Syracuse can get shots to fall from deep, as it did with a 7-for-15 (46.7%) clip in its opener versus Niagara, then it could give Maryland a run for its money.

Stat to know: 59.9%

Through their first three games, the Terrapins are posting a 59.9% rebound rate, according to HerHoopStats, which is 19th nationally.

The Orange are not far behind with a 57.9% rebound rate, coming in at 40th in the country. With two teams who can clean the glass, it may be a battle down low to see who can gather rebounds and put their team over the top.

Dalce is key for Maryland, who has two double-doubles already this season and had 18 games with double-digit rebounds last year with Villanova. For SU, six players — Kyra Wood, Shy Hawkins, Keira Scott, Izabel Varejão, Dominique Camp and Burrows — are averaging more than four rebounds per game.

Player to watch: Kaylene Smikle, guard, No. 2

Smikle is coming off two productive seasons with Rutgers. The 6-foot guard averaged 17.9 and 16.1 points, respectively, in her first two seasons. The Long Island native is also a force on the defensive end, with an average of 2.2 steals per game in her first season and then 1.7 last year.

As a freshman in 2022-23, Smikle was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and second team All-Big Ten. But Smikle only played 15 games last year due to a mid-season injury.

After transferring to Maryland in the offseason, Smikle has upped her production. She only logged seven points in the Terrapins’ lopsided opener against UMBC but increased her tally to 20 in their second game versus Coppin State, before putting up 23 against the Blue Devils. Smikle is shooting 7-for-10 from 3 (70%) and 11-for-12 (91.7%) from the free-throw line along with totaling 1.2 steals per game.

Published on November 12, 2024 at 9:52 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu