2014-15 Orange Eagle Trophy: Syracuse Holds Slim 48-45 Lead After Boston College Tennis Victory

When last we checked in on this year's Orange Eagle Trophy, the Orange held a half-sport lead—42-39—over the Eagles. After splitting the next two regular season meetings, Syracuse and Boston College remain neck and neck with Cuse holding a slight 48-45 lead going into the final three regular season meetings. Let's recap the action from Conte and the Plex.

Results

February 11 - Men's Basketball (6 Points) - Syracuse 70, Boston College 56 (SU leads 48-39)

In a game that was shaping up to be another back-and-forth affair, Syracuse used a pair of runs in the second half to pull away from BC and earn a 70-56 victory at Conte Forum. Michael Gbinije scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Trevor Cooney had 15 points. The Orange weathered an off night from Rakeem Christmas, who finished with just 7 points despite going into the game leading the ACC with 18.5 points per game.

With the victory, Syracuse sweeps the regular season series with BC and earns 12 important Orange Eagle points. Those 12 points help offset the points Boston College earned with its 28-7 victory over the Orange in football back on November 29. That's also all the points Syracuse will be able to earn in men's basketball this year, as the Orange's self-imposed postseason ban will prohibit Syracuse from earning any ACC Tournament champion or NCAA Tournament champion bonus points, as well as eliminates any chance of a third BC-SU game in the ACC Tournament down in Greensboro.

February 14 - Women's Tennis (6 points) - Boston College 4, Syracuse 1 (SU leads 48-45)

Despite falling behind 1-0, the Boston College women's tennis team would rally to win four straight and earn a 4-1 victory over Syracuse at the Plex.

In the doubles competition, Jessica Wacnik and Lexi Borr improved to 8-0 on the season with a 6-1 victory. Syracuse would end up taking the next two doubles matches, giving them a 1-0 advantage heading into the singles competition.

Boston College managed to win four straight in the singles competition to earn the 4-1 victory and the six Orange Eagle points. Jessica Wacnik battled it out against Amanda Rodgers, winning a close 7-6, 7-6 match. Lexi Borr, Katya Vasilyev and Asiya Dair would also earn singles victories for the Eagles.

With the victory, the 57th ranked Eagles (5-4) halted a three-match winning streak for No. 53 Syracuse (5-2).

Upcoming Schedule

With each school earning six Orange Eagle points, Syracuse retains a slim 48-45 lead on Boston College. This one is going to go down to the wire. Next up for the two schools is the back-end of the women's basketball home-and-home on February 19th in the Carrier Dome, followed by the women's lacrosse regular season meeting on February 28. BC and SU wrap up the Orange Eagle regular season with a three-game softball series on the Heights on March 21 and 22.

Bonus Points and Wild Cards

BC and Syracuse are neck and neck in this year's Orange Eagle Trophy competition. Assuming a Syracuse women's basketball victory over BC, the Orange would hold a 1-sport lead (6 points) heading into the final two regular season meetings, women's lacrosse and softball.

There's a strong possibility that bonus points will decide this year's Orange Eagle competition. Here are some possible bonus points to keep an eye on the rest of the way:

– ACC Women's Basketball Tournament meeting (6 points head-to-head, 6 points ACC title). Right now, Syracuse would be the 7th seed and Boston College the 12th, so the Eagles and Orange would be on opposite sides of the bracket, making a matchup in the ACC Tournament unlikely. However, if the two programs find themselves in the 7/10/15 or 6/11/14 side of the bracket, a third meeting could happen down in Greensboro. That's potentially very good news for SU fans.

– ACC Women's Lacrosse Championship meeting (6 points head-to-head, 6 points ACC title, 10 points National Championship). BC and Syracuse always seem to find a way to meet after the one regular season matchup a year. There really aren't a lot of places to hide given that the conference only runs eight programs deep and BC and SU are two of the better programs in the conference this year. Another six points could be up for grabs in an ACC Championship rematch. And, should either BC or SU win the conference championship, that school would earn another six Orange Eagle points.

– NCAA Women's Hockey Tournament meeting (6 points head-to-head, 10 points National Championship). Top-ranked BC is in line to snag the NCAA Tournament's #1 seed. Meanwhile, Syracuse is in third place in the CHA regular season standings and could make a run at the conference title / CHA's NCAA Tournament auto-bid. Should the Orange qualify for the NCAA Tournament, Syracuse would almost certainly earn the 8th and final seed to the tournament and a first round matchup against the tournament's top seed. An NCAA Tournament meeting between BC and SU would carry an additional six points, and 10 bonus points would go to the team that could string together three wins in the NCAAs.

– Men's Lacrosse / Men's Hockey National Championships (10 points National Championship). It's probably not in the cards for BC this year, but always have to be on the lookout for an additional 10 bonus points here, should BC men's hockey or Syracuse men's lacrosse win a natty.

Make sure to stay close to Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and BC Interruption for all the Orange Eagle Updates as we approach to conclusion of the 2014-2015 competition.