No. 10 Syracuse secures NCAA Tournament spot for 5th consecutive year
Syracuse will play No. 7 Liberty Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after earning its fifth straight berth to the national playoffs. Tara Deluca | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse earned its 19th-ever NCAA Tournament berth after the NCAA announced its 18-squad field Sunday. The unseeded Orange were one of five Atlantic Coast Conference squads chosen. SU will face No. 7 Liberty on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
Although No. 10 SU began the season 6-0 — its best start since 2017 — the Orange stumbled in ACC play, with all five of their regular-season losses coming against conference opponents. Still, SU stepped up at the ACC Tournament, soundly defeating No. 6 seed Wake Forest 3-1, before taking No. 4 seed Virginia to double overtime and eventually losing in a shootout.
By qualifying, Syracuse punched its fifth straight NCAA Tournament ticket. Three of its last four runs have ended at the quarterfinals, twice by Maryland, then-No. 3 Duke and then-No. 10 Harvard, which it lost to in the second round last year.
SU and Liberty last met in the NCAA First Round in 2023, when the Orange pulled out a 2-1 overtime win courtesy of a Charlotte de Vries game-winner. On this occasion, the Flames enter the match boasting their third Big East title and a 17-2 (7-0 Big East) regular-season record.
The victor of the second round matchup is slated to play either No. 2 seed Princeton or the winner of the first round Boston University-Fairfield matchup in the quarterfinals on Nov. 16.
