Syracuse earns at-large bid, No. 9 seed in 2026 NCAA Tournament
The Orange earned an at-large bid and a No. 9 seed, announced Sunday. Syracuse is set to face No. 8 seed Iowa State in the round of 64 on Saturday. Avery Magee | Photo Editor
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Felisha Legette-Jack’s expectation since the preseason was for Syracuse to be the nation’s last team standing, and on Sunday, it moved one step closer. SU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament — which was announced on ESPN’s Selection Sunday telecast — where it’ll join the Forth Worth region as a No. 9 seed.
The Orange are slated to face No. 8 seed Iowa State on Saturday in Storrs, Connecticut, in the round of 64 before a potential matchup with either No. 1 seed UConn or No. 16 seed UTSA in the round of 32. The nod is Syracuse’s first to the Big Dance since 2024, when it collapsed against Paige Bueckers’ UConn squad on the Huskies’ home court in the second round. Should it surpass the Cyclones, SU will likely have a chance for revenge versus the same team on the same hardwood where that loss occurred.
Syracuse is coming off a 22-win campaign, which was accentuated by an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals appearance and Legette-Jack’s first ACC Tournament win since she took over in 2022. After a 12-18 2024-25 season, the Orange retooled their roster to spur their second March Madness berth in the last five years.
Laila Phelia played as advertised following four years between Michigan and Texas. Sophie Burrows held her own from deep — shooting 31% — and displayed two-way versatility she hadn’t shown in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
As for surprises, there’s none greater than Uche Izoje. The Nigerian center became the Orange’s second-ever ACC Rookie of the Year and single-handedly vitalized one of the conference’s best frontcourts. Dominique Darius also emerged as SU’s everyday point guard after playing sparingly in four years between UCLA and USC.
Per a team spokesperson, Darius will miss the entire tournament after she suffered a left hand injury in Syracuse’s ACC Tournament Second-Round win over Cal.
It’ll surely be difficult for the Orange without their floor general on Saturday. Regardless, though, the meeting with Iowa State, starring big Audi Crooks, is a major test. Syracuse is 1-7 against Quad 1 opponents, with its lone win coming in mid-January against Virginia. A feisty ISU team that reached the first round round of the NCAA Tournament last year certainly won’t make it easy for SU to pick up a long-awaited second Quad 1 victory.
