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Copeland, Taylor enter NCAA basketball transfer portal

Copeland, Taylor enter basketball transfer portal

Sports SUmmary: Men’s basketball opt out of the NIT, women’s basketball heads into March Madness as No. 6 seed.

Story by Holden Sherman
Published: March 19, 2024
Quadir Copeland (#24) celebrates a win against Virginia Tech as the crowd begins to cheer on Tuesday night, at the JMA wireless dome.
Photo by Diana Valdivia
Quadir Copeland, seen here celebrating a win against Virginia Tech on Feb. 27 at the JMA Wireless Dome, announced Monday that he was entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Less than a week after Syracuse men’s basketball season ended devastatingly, sophomores Justin Taylor and Quadir Copeland entered the transfer portal. 

Taylor started every game for Syracuse this season, averaging five points and four rebounds, but struggled from the field, hitting 35.2% of his shots and only 30.1% from deep. 

Copeland finished second for ACC Sixth Man of the Year this season, averaging 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He was second on the team with 89 assists. 

Neither player shared why they decided to transfer.

Men’s basketball opted out of NIT play

Syracuse men’s basketball opted out of NIT Play, the school announced this past week, officially ending their season. The team had a bumpy year with many ups and downs. 

Syracuse Athletics released a statement saying that they respect the NIT, but their goal for the season was the NCAA tournament.

In head coach Adrian Autry’s first year replacing Jim Boeheim, the team won 20 games for the first time in ten years. A defeat to NC State in their first ACC Tournament game last week ended the season on a tough note, along with the dismissal of junior Benny Williams midway through the season. 

The Orange will look to get back to March Madness for the first time since 2021 in their 2024-2025 campaign.

Syracuse women’s basketball heading to the Big Dance

After a dominant season, Syracuse women’s basketball earned the No. 6 seed in the Portland 3 Regional in March Madness. The Orange will travel to Gampel Pavillion to face the winner between Auburn and Arizona.

The game is set to tip-off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN 2.   

This is the team’s 13th invite to the NCAA Tournament and its first since head coach Felisha Legette-Jack took over in 2022. Legette-Jack won the ACC Coach of the Year honors and was named a semifinalist for the 2024 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year.

Syracuse is currently ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and has been in the rankings every week since week nine.