Orange Madness: Syracuse Men's and Women's Basketball Dance Their Way into the 2015-16 Season

Story by Lena Pringle 

Photos by Zach Francis

Syracuse, N.Y. - Dance-offs, selfie booths, and a dunk contest are a few of the events in the unveiling of the 2015-2016 Syracuse University women's and men's basketball teams at the Carrier Dome, Friday night. The annual "Orange Madness" introduced and promoted the teams and their players to their fans and the surrounding community.

Members of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum escorted Women's head coach Quentin Hillsman and men's head coach Jim Boeheim into the arena before a crowd of about 5,500..

Meaningful Music

After the cheerleading and dance teams performed the event tipped off with player introductions. Players for the upcoming season were introduced to their fans with different songs and accompanying dance moves. With the personalized songs from the '80s into the 2000s, there was enough variety that all in the audience could appreciate.

A fitting lyric of Drake's currently popular rap song Big Rings played after the introductions of both teams were complete - "I got a really big team, they need some really big rings."

Competition

This spirited event continued with a performance by Christian rapper N.F. before the women's and men's teams split their teams in two and played each other in Orange versus White scrimmages.



The four shot, three-point shootout, and dunk contest allowed players with special talents to be recognized. Also it kept the competition between Orange versus White going strong. With every contest there would be a winning player or team and the points would go to the overall score of the event. Sophomore Doyin Akintobi-Adeyeye, a walk-on won the dunk contest. The final score of the competition was 60-57 with the White team winning. 


The event ended with fans being able to take pictures at the selfie booths with their favorite Orange basketball players and coaches.  

Last season and the openers ahead

Last year the women's team finished with an overall record of 22-10 and 11-5 in conference play. The women's team finished with an overall record of 18-13 and 9-9 in conference play and went out to South Carolina in the of the NCAA tournament round of 32.

The women played five games, winning four this summer in Austria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
They  will face their first regular season opponent the University of Rhode Island, on Friday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. in Kingston, R.I.

The men's team finished with an overall record of 18-13 and 9-9 in conference play and voluntarily did not play in the postseason because of the NCAA investigation that resulted in sanctions including scholarship reductions and a nine-game suspension for head coach Jim Boeheim. The NCAA has not yet announced rulings on appeals.

The men will face their first opponent with an exhibition game against Le Moyne on Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.