WBB: Cards Set To Open ACC Tournament vs. Syracuse

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 5, 2026

The No. 2 seed Louisville Cardinals (25-6, 15-3 ACC) matchup is set for its first game in the Ally ACC Championship. After receiving a double bye, the Cardinals will start in the quarterfinal round and face off against No. 7 seed Syracuse (23-7, 12-6 ACC). The Cardinals and Orange will square off on Friday at 5 p.m. and it will be broadcast on ESPN2.

This is the 12th appearance for the Cardinals in the ACC Tournament and they have reached the quarterfinal or further in all 12 seasons. They are the only ACC team to make the quarterfinals or further in each of the previous 12 seasons. This is the fourth time the Cardinals will be a No. 2 seed in the tournament. They have advanced to the semifinals twice and the title game once as the No. 2 seed. This is the first time they have been a No. 2 seed since the 2021-22 season. This is the third time the Cardinals will play Syracuse in the ACC Tournament and they are 1-1 all-time against the Orange.

The Cardinals were well represented in the ACC postseason awards that were announced earlier this week. Imari Berry was named Sixth Player of the Year and earned Second Team All-ACC honors from the Blue Ribbon panel. She is the second Louisville player to earn ACC Sixth Player of the Year after Dana Evans won the award in the 2018-19 season.

Laura Ziegler was named First Team All-ACC by both the coaches and Blue Ribbon panel. Tajianna Roberts was named First Team All-ACC by the coaches and Second Team All-ACC by the Blue Ribbon panel. Both Ziegler and Roberts were named to the Preseason All-ACC team prior to the season.

Date: Friday, March 6
Time: 5 p.m. ET
Site: Duluth, Ga. | Gas South Arena (13,000)
TV: ESPN2 (Courtney Lyle, play-by-play; Brooke Weisbrod, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History (Cuse): Louisville leads 22-8 (13-1 home, 7-6 away, 2-1 neutral)

ABOUT THE ORANGE
Syracuse enters the ACC Tournament with a 22-7 overall record and were 12-6 in ACC play to earn the No. 7 seed for this week. After the two teams met on Feb. 8 in Syracuse, the Orange finished the regular season 3-2 over the final few weeks with wins over Pitt, Clemson, and Boston College. They dropped contests to NC State and Notre Dame. Forward Iche Uzoje was named the ACC Freshman of the Year by both the coaches and Blue Ribbon panel. She also earned First Team All-ACC honors from both groups. She led the Orange with 15.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game on the season. Her 2.6 blocks per game leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally heading into the tournament. Syracuse as a team leads the ACC and ranks fifth nationally with 17.2 offensive rebounds per game. They are second in the conference and 11th nationally with 42.8 total rebounds per game. In the first matchup between the two teams, Syracuse was limited to 11 offensive rebounds and 27 total rebounds.

Last Meeting (Feb. 8, 2026) – The No. 6 Louisville women’s basketball team (22-4, 12-1 ACC) got back on track with an 84-65 win over Syracuse (19-5, 9-4 ACC) Sunday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Cardinals limited the Orange without a field goal in the first quarter and never looked back to improve to 8-0 on the road this season. Laura Ziegler led the way for the Cardinals with 22 points to tie a season high and she was 10-for-13 from the field. Mackenly Randolph had a career high 15 points and led the team with eight rebounds and had four assists. Tajianna Roberts was in double figures with 12 points, team-best five assists and tied a season high with five rebounds and had three steals. Imari Berry joined the trio in double figures with 15 points, five assists and a team-best four steals.