4 keys to unlocking a successful Syracuse NCAA Tournament run
Syracuse women’s basketball is heading to Storrs, Connecticut, for the NCAA Tournament. Here are four keys for the Orange to make a deep March Madness run. Avery Magee | Photo Editor
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Felisha Legette-Jack just can’t seem to escape Storrs, Connecticut, can she?
When it was announced No. 9 seed Syracuse was heading to Connecticut to take on No. 8 seed Iowa State Saturday, SU’s head coach remained seated while everyone around her celebrated. The last time she brought the Orange to the NCAA Tournament, Legette-Jack had to deal with Geno Auriemma’s juggernaut UConn squad.
Two seasons later, and her path to immortality again runs through the Huskies.
“We’re always excited about going to the NCAA Tournament,” Legette-Jack said. “But I think that it’s kind of rigged a little bit, because every time I go, I end up going to Connecticut.”
Rigged or not, that’s the path the committee chose for Legette-Jack, and that’s what she’ll grapple with to make a deep run. Ahead of its return to the NCAA Tournament, here are four keys for Syracuse’s postseason success:
Get to the point
Legette-Jack had to address the elephant in the room. At Destiny USA’s Apex Entertainment, Dominique Darius, wearing a splint on her finger, had just thanked the crowd for showing up to Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday.
She went down with an injury in the third quarter of SU’s ACC Tournament Second Round win over Cal and was ruled out of its ACC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against Louisville. Without her, the Orange looked out of sync offensively.
“We just have to handle the ball,” Laila Phelia said after SU lost to Louisville. “And understand that, because Dom is not out there, everyone needs to be able to partake in that.”
Everyone wanted to know the Syracuse’s starting point guard’s status. So, Legette-Jack confirmed the news on Sunday. Darius needs surgery on her left hand — her season is over.
Olivia Schmitt, Camdyn Nelson, Angelica Velez and Madeline Potts all saw time at the point in Syracuse’s loss to the Cardinals, as Legette-Jack desperately tried to find a new solution at the position. For the Orange to even have a chance at making it past UConn in the NCAA Tournament, it has to figure out who its point guard will be.
“By committee,” Legette-Jack said Sunday night, when asked how she plans to replace Darius. “All of the guards, you got to step up. We might have to put Sophie (Burrows) at the point. We might have to put Maddie at the point.”
Laila Phelia releases a 3-pointer against Boston College. Phelia has been one of Syracuse’s top deep-range shooters all season. Avery Magee | Photo Editor
Win on the glass
Syracuse has lost four games all season by a margin of at least 20 points. In three of those matchups, it got outrebounded and gave up more than 40 boards to each opponent.
In the Orange’s 81-55 loss to then-No. 6 Michigan on Nov. 23, 2025, they got outrebounded 46-32. A little over a month later, SU got bullied in the paint and outrebounded 48-40 in its 71-51 defeat to Duke. When then-No. 12 Louisville rolled into the JMA Wireless Dome on March 6, the Cardinals won the board battle 43-34, and subsequently won the game 87-61.
It’s simple. Rebounding is Syracuse’s equalizer. When SU can gain an edge on the glass, it can compete with high-quality teams. When it can’t, it’s generally a bad omen for its performance.
Currently, the Orange rank 12th out of 363 Division I teams with an average of 42.2 rebounds per game. Limit that to just offensive rebounds, and that ranking soars even higher, as SU’s 16.8 average places it seventh in the nation.
Syracuse’s best performance all season, arguably, came in a 77-71 overtime defeat to North Carolina, a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Although the Tar Heels outrebounded the Orange 43-40, SU grabbed 19 offensive boards to UNC’s 10 to keep it competitive.
Have a game like that, and you might cause the Cyclones some trouble.
Zoey Grimes | Design Editor
Phelia, please free the 3
On Feb. 23, Phelia’s 3-point percentage was higher than her field goal percentage. That’s not the case anymore.
Across her last eight contests, Phelia has made just six of her 29 attempts from beyond the arc, good for a meager 20.7% 3-point percentage. It’s a far cry from the team-leading 37.0% she sports on the season overall.
Her deep-range shooting has been a revelation for the Orange this year, especially after her 2024-25 season was lost to a devastating eye injury at Texas. She’s since recouped her vision, and through diligently working with SU assistant coach Amber Moore, has unlocked an aspect of her game she never knew she had.
“I feel like, in my game,” Phelia began back in November, “I’ve never been a 3-point scorer.”
A lot has changed since then. And whether or not she expected to be filling that role, Syracuse needs her to be a 3-point scorer now to have any chance at success this March.
Feed Uche Izoje
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Uche Izoje is, after all, both SU’s leading rebounder and leading scorer. But against Iowa State’s Audi Crooks — and, potentially, UConn’s Sarah Strong if the Orange advance past ISU — it’s imperative the Orange find a way to get Izoje clicking on the offensive end.
Feeding Izoje is the only way for Syracuse to have any sort of offensive March success. She practically singlehandedly willed SU to victory with 23 points against Cal in the ACC Tournament Second Round and still led the Orange with 22 points in defeat against Louisville.
“I mean, obviously, Uche goes 9-for-15, she’s got 22 and nine,” Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said after the win. “So we didn’t do a very good job of stopping her.”
Don’t feel ashamed, Walz. It happens to everyone. Izoje is the ACC Rookie of the Year for a reason. She’s dominated practically all of the competition she’s faced this season. If the Orange want to extend their season, she’ll have to lead the way.
“Uche is gonna do something because she’s a Rookie of the Year in the ACC,” Legette-Jack said Sunday. “Which is, in my opinion, the best conference in the country.”
