Syracuse Orange at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

No. 4 Irish beat No. 18 Orange 91-66 to reach ACC final

Jackie Young had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 4 Notre Dame advanced to the ACC title game by routing No. 18 Syracuse 91-66 on Saturday in a semifinal.

"This is what we've been looking for," Young said. "We all know what happened last year."

Tiana Mangakahia scored 14 points and Gabrielle Cooper added 12 to lead fifth-seeded Syracuse (24-8). A day after making an ACC Tournament-record 14 3-pointers in a quarterfinal upset of No. 15 Miami, the live-by-the-3 Orange were 8 of 23 from long range against the ACC's best 3-point defense.

Mangakahia pulled Syracuse to 55-44 with a layup with 4½ minutes left in the third, but the Irish put the game away by scoring 13 straight points, with Young's three-point play with 1:59 left in the period stretching the lead into the 20s for good.

Brianna Turner had 14 points for Notre Dame while Arike Ogunbowale, the ACC's leading scorer, added 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting.

BIG PICTURE

"We missed a lot of shots," coach Quentin Hillsman said. "You can't miss shots against a team like Notre Dame."

Notre Dame: The last time the Irish didn't reach a conference final was in 2010 when they were knocked out of the Big East Tournament in the quarterfinals. They improved to 16-1 all-time in the ACC Tournament and won their 21st in a row in the series.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

BRACKET WATCH

Notre Dame again looked every bit the part of a No. 1 seed, and the Orange hope they did enough to earn a top-four seed and the right to host a four-team subregional. Syracuse was 10th in the most recent RPI and was 15th on the NCAA's most recent reveal of its top 16 seeds. Hillsman says he believes his team deserves to play its first couple of postseason games at home. "If we don't (host), I mean, they're going to change the whole criteria, right?" Hillsman asked.

RECORD BOOK

UP NEXT

Syracuse: Awaits Selection Monday to learn its NCAA Tournament opponent.

Notre Dame: Returns to the ACC championship game Sunday.

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How can I watch Orange vs. Fighting Irish?

• TV Channel: Orange vs Fighting Irish 2021 College Basketball, week 18, is broadcasted on ESPNU.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: First Horizon Coliseum

Location: Greensboro, NC
Capacity: