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STORRS, Conn. — Uche Izoje let out a big sigh.

Sitting at Syracuse’s postgame press conference in the bowels of Gampel Pavilion, Izoje had just been asked a rather difficult question. Because no team — or player — has really had a legitimate answer to it.

What’s it like to battle Audi Crooks?

Izoje sighed, laughed and began her answer.

“It was an honor playing against her,” she said. “She has a strong body and she’s athletic.”

Izoje’s assessment is just the tip of the iceberg with a player like Crooks. Iowa State’s 6-foot-3 center was named a Second-Team All-American this season. She entered Saturday averaging 25.5 points per game, the nation’s second-best mark, and routinely dominated centers all season. The last time she finished with fewer than 10 points was Nov. 6, 2023, the first game of her collegiate career.

So, Izoje — Syracuse’s own star center and Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year — knew she had her hands full in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament First Round matchup with Crooks’ Cyclones. In one of the biggest tests of her young career, Izoje certainly didn’t stop Crooks. But she did just enough to counter one of the nation’s top scorers.

Crooks (37 points) and Izoje (23) combined for 60 points as No. 9 seed Syracuse (24-8, 12-6 ACC) held off No. 8 seed Iowa State (22-10, 10-8 Big 12) 72-63 in the first round of March Madness. The two star centers dueled on both ends of the court all evening, each leading their respective team in scoring, while shooting a combined 64% from the field. At the end of the night, though, Izoje’s Orange came out on top.

“She was a fun matchup,” Crooks said of Izoje. “Super impressed with her. She was fun to trade bucket for bucket with.”

Eyes were fixed on the matchup the moment the two teams’ names were drawn. It’s why the game was one of the most highly-anticipated first-round clashes. After all, both bigs were major reasons their teams had reached the NCAA Tournament in the first place. Crooks dominated just about every center in the country. The freshman Izoje was a new challenger.

To SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, the battle between Izoje and Crooks was more of a sidebar, though. When asked about the matchup Friday, she said this was Syracuse versus Iowa State, not Izoje versus Crooks.

But, at times, the matchup felt awfully hard to ignore. Especially when the two traded buckets from the opening possession Saturday.

On SU’s first trip down the floor, Izoje rose up from the elbow and nailed a jumper over Crooks. Twenty-one seconds later, Crooks answered back by spinning into space down low and finishing with her left hand to tie the game at 2-2.

Star centers Uche Izoje and Iowa State’s Audi Crooks combined for 60 points in a matchup down low that lived up to the billing, as the Orange advanced past the Cyclones 72-63. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor

Those opening 50 seconds were a sign of what was to come. Despite occasional fouls between the bigs, which gave Oyindamola Akinbolawa a try on Crooks, the duel kept returning. Izoje did most of her work in the mid-range, evading Crooks in the paint on most possessions. Crooks stuck to her bread and butter, backing down defenders and finishing buckets at the rim.

Izoje’s jumper caused the Cyclones problems all evening. Crooks compared it to Larry Bird’s shot, where the ball is held above the head and catapulted toward the net. Crooks said it’s difficult to defend because she couldn’t get a good contest without fouling. Izoje scored 18 points off mid-range jumpers alone.

“Those are some tough shots. Mid-range jumpers,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly added. “You got a hand in your face, and she’s got a good look at it. Her length. It’s a unique skill set, and one that we had not seen.”

Crooks, meanwhile, took advantage of her size to torment defenders down low. It forced Izoje into some early foul trouble, making SU’s defensive strategy a collective effort. Whether it was Izoje, Akinbolawa or Journey Thompson, Crooks still got to the rack at will. Legette-Jack joked Izoje needed to give her teammates some of the blame for Crooks’ monster night, too.

This is what Legette-Jack and Fennelly expected. Iowa State’s head coach wasn’t shy about admitting Izoje was the main focus in ISU’s game plan. He said Friday Izoje’s versatility, which includes 2.6 blocks per game, is a “problem,” and that the Cyclones would have a lot of work to do to figure her out.

After both bigs scored 10 points in the second quarter — and SU hit the locker room up 15 points — Iowa State did better to slow down Izoje in the second half. She scored just seven points across the two quarters. Meanwhile, Crooks began hitting her stride. Each bucket Syracuse scored was answered on the other end. Often by No. 55.

Crooks completely took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points to will Iowa State within six. But, with just over two minutes to play, Izoje received the ball in the post from Thompson. Her teammates cleared the lane. Just her and Crooks — as this game always felt it would be.

Izoje jabbed to her right, dribbled to her left and nailed a pull-up jumper over Crooks. It gave the Orange an 11-point lead they never relinquished.

As much as Legette-Jack downplayed the matchup, it was on full display Saturday night. Entering the game, it seemed that the best of the two bigs would be the victorious team. But as Legette-Jack said, it was Iowa State versus Syracuse. Not Uche versus Audi.

Crooks’ 37 points won the battle of the bigs. But Izoje — and the Orange — won the war.

Published on March 22, 2026 at 10:41 am