UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- One day after suffering a 28-point loss against the UConn Huskies in their exhibition season opener, the Syracuse Orange women's basketball team received some good news, as they were picked to finish seventh out of 18 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) preseason poll. 

The Orange finished in a tie for fifth in the league last season. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 9 seed. They beat Iowa State in the Round of 64 before losing to UConn in the Round of 32.

In addition to Syracuse's team placement, star center Uche Izoje was named to the All-ACC preseason team. She was an All-ACC selection a year ago and was the league's Rookie of the Year.

Here's more of what you need to know:

1) Duke

2) Louisville

3) North Carolina

4) Notre Dame

5) North Carolina State

6) Virignia

7) Syracuse

8) Virginia Tech

9) Clemson

10) Cal

11) Miami

12) Georgia Tech

13) Stanford

14) Florida State

15) SMU

16) Wake Forest

17) Pitt

18) Boston College

Full poll, complete with points: 

Ultimately, preseason polls don't mean a lot more than just serving as conversation and fodder for local and national analysts. But, should Syracuse actually finish seventh in the league, that would mean they have an excellent chance to make the NCA Tournament again, especially as the tournament field expands from 68 to 76 beginning this season.

Syracuse opened up its exhibition slate on Monday with that loss to UConn, but there were things to be encouraged about. For starters, transfers Tyi Skinner and Emely Rodriguez looked good in their first action with the Orange, as did Sarah Rambus.

We covered our full takeaways from the performance here.

The SU men will take the floor for the first time on Tuesday night when they play UConn, also at Mohegan Sun Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET.

We covered three things we want to see in the matchup, which will serve as the first game as head coach for Gerry McNamara. The UConn men are coming off a trip to the national title game, which they lost to Michigan.

The Huskies have been to the national title game three times in the last four years. They've won two of them.