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Now is when it really counts. After a triumphant regular season, during which Syracuse won 22 games, the Orange are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2024. They experienced the highs of downing Auburn and Cal in overtime and the lows of falling to Atlantic Coast Conference elites Duke and Louisville.

It’s all led to a trip to Storrs, Connecticut, where SU will appear in its 14th-ever NCAA Tournament. Since the preseason, Felisha Legette-Jack said that this Syracuse team could win it all, and to prove her right, the Orange must first get past Iowa State.

Star center Audi Crooks leads the Cyclones and will give SU’s Uche Izoje her toughest test yet. The Orange are also without point guard Dominique Darius after she sustained a left-hand injury in the ACC Tournament.

Here’s how our beat writers think No. 9 seed Syracuse (23-8, 12-6 ACC) will fare against No. 8 seed Iowa State (22-9, 10-8 Big 12) in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64:

Jordan Kimball
Take a bow
Syracuse 64, Iowa State 81

Every season has a finale, and sometimes it’s sooner than you hope. In this case, Syracuse actually exceeded expectations, but the Orange will finally have their curtain call Saturday in Storrs.

I didn’t spend much time in the theater growing up, compared to my fellow scribes, but I still vividly remember the casts of productions emerging from behind the curtain to a loud round of applause. They’d delivered a performance filled with drama, the occasional breakout and memorable moments. To me, that’s Syracuse’s season.

It flipped a 12-win campaign into 23 victories and a March Madness berth. It built a lethal frontcourt and found a hidden gem in Izoje. Ultimately, though, Darius is SU’s lead, and with her sidelined, Syracuse is forced to lean on understudies Olivia Schmitt and Angelica Velez. That’s not a recipe for success.

Izoje will have her hands full with Crooks in the paint — definitely the toughest matchup SU’s center will face this season. While the Nigerian can explode for a double-double on any given night, it won’t be enough to push the Orange over the edge this time.

Syracuse has proven there’s a line between it and the nation’s best teams, and Iowa State is on the other side of that line. The Orange lost their three ranked matchups by a combined 71 points, while the Cyclones spent 10 weeks in the national top 25 poll.

Darius’ injury is a rare blow to what was otherwise a remarkable season, yet it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Orange should leave Storrs with a sense of accomplishment. They had drama, breakouts and memorable moments. But now it’s time for them to take their final bow.

Mauricio Palmar
ISU? I See U Winning.
Syracuse 66, Iowa State 82

My last chance of the season at a clever predictive pun. How quickly it goes by. It feels like yesterday that I was predicting this team to win just 14 games before the season. Now, as I write this, I’m essentially resigning myself to the idea that Syracuse’s season will end Saturday.

Because I’m truly not sure how the Orange are supposed to beat Iowa State. No matter which way you slice it, there’s just not a feasible game script for SU to follow to secure a victory.

Limiting Crooks? That sounds nice in theory, but she hasn’t been held to single-digits all season. Much better teams than the Orange have tried — and failed — to stop her, so I don’t foresee Syracuse being the one to buck that trend.

Well, OK, fair. If we’ve already resigned ourselves to the idea Crooks is going to get her game off regardless, why not lean on Izoje to do the heavy lifting all game? That should be a sound strategy, right?

Yes, to an extent, and no. Izoje is utterly fantastic, but she can’t match Crooks and the Cyclones’ high-octane offense by herself, especially without Darius feeding her looks as her point guard. Look at what happened against Louisville. She scored 22 points, leading the Orange by a country mile, and SU still lost by more than 20.

No matter how much Izoje work puts on Crooks in the paint, it won’t be enough to overcome Syracuse’s lackluster backcourt. Its season will die on Saturday.

Harris Pemberton
No Dom, no party
Syracuse 71, Iowa State 79

It’s truly a shame Darius has to sit this one out for the Orange. Because, had she not been injured, I’d take Syracuse to win. The Cyclones are cold — at least for their standards — dropping three of their last four games. But the Syracuse offense without Darius is like a ship with no captain. Something is just missing.

Her loss is amplified when you look at SU’s lack of depth in the position, or really everywhere for that matter. Aside from top scorers in Izoje, Darius, Laila Phelia and Sophie Burrows, the Orange don’t have another player consistently scoring five points. Against one of the nation’s top offenses in Iowa State, good luck keeping up if you can’t replicate the production of your starting point guard.

Much like Syracuse, the Cyclones are top-heavy, with three star scorers and not much else. Crooks is the name everyone will be watching, and for good reason. She’s the best post player in the country and will be an incredible matchup against Syracuse’s own star center in Izoje.

Outside of Crooks, the Orange should look out for Jada Williams and Addy Brown, both of whom have put together great seasons in Crooks’ shadow. They both provide viable offensive options who can step up in the reality where Izoje stifles Crooks down low.

I really want to pick the Orange in this one because I think they can give the Cyclones a great game. But in a small sample size without Darius, this Syracuse offense looked lost. And I can’t see SU figuring it out in time to effectively counter one of the best offensive players in the country. So much of the SU offense is dependent on Darius’ dynamic playmaking, and that’s not really something I can see any other guard outside of Phelia replicating to the same degree.

So, it’ll be a first round exit in Storrs — a sour ending to a truly special season for Syracuse.

Published on March 18, 2026 at 11:06 pm