Syracuse coach calls NCAA bracket placement a 'personal attack' after third straight tournament loss to UConn

The UConn women’s hoops Huskies continued their cleanable play with a blowout victory, 98-45, implicit the Syracuse Orange successful the 2nd circular of the NCAA Tournament connected Monday nighttime astatine the Gampel Pavilion. 

This marked the 3rd consecutive NCAA Tournament wherever the Orange’s play ended astatine the hands of the Huskies, and Syracuse caput manager Felisha Legette-Jack fto retired her vexation with that information during her post-game property conference. 

The Orange made the tourney successful 2021, earlier Legette-Jack took implicit the programme from Quentin Hillsman, wherever they mislaid successful akin blowout manner to the Huskies, 83-47. When Legette-Jack took implicit and yet led the Orange to the tourney successful 2024, it was a overmuch person defeat, 72-64, though astatine the hands of UConn again. 

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Felisha Legette-Jack of the Syracuse Orange reacts during a 2nd circular crippled against the UConn Huskies successful the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held astatine Harry A. Gampel Pavilion connected March 23, 2026 successful Storrs, Connecticut. (Sean Elliot/NCAA Photos)

Now, successful 2026 aft going 24-8 during the season, Legette-Jack felt her squad deserved a changeable elsewhere. But the enactment committee that puts unneurotic the bracket for the NCAA Tournament had a imaginable matchup with the Huskies slated astatine their location tribunal if they some made it retired of the archetypal round. 

After doing so, the gathering was set, and the effect was disfigured arsenic UConn enactment unneurotic a grounds 31-0 tally successful the archetypal half, which yet enactment the crippled retired of scope earlier the 3rd 4th begun. It was a 65-12 halftime score, and Huskies legendary caput manager Geno Auriemma eased disconnected the state pedal with his starters successful the 2nd half. 

So, Legette-Jack voiced her frustrations successful a beardown opening statement.

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"For america and what we’ve done, our assemblage of work, to person to travel to play the champion squad successful the country. Geno has this happening going, and I emotion what he’s done. But we, I thought, deserved much respect aft being successful this concern for 37 years. To person to travel and beryllium successful this peculiar bracket each freaking twelvemonth is unacceptable. It’s wrong," she said. 

Legette-Jack adjacent wondered if idiosyncratic wrong the enactment committee has a gripe with her considering 1 of her erstwhile caput coaching stops astatine Buffalo saw a nonaccomplishment to UConn successful the Sweet 16 of the 2019 tournament. 

"If you’re connected the committee, and you’ve been astir for much than a twelvemonth oregon 2 – 5 to 10, 15 years – you recognize what that looks like," she continued. "I’ve been connected those committees to spot however it’s done, however you tin enactment radical connected antithetic lines. Put america connected the 10 line. But for america to proceed to travel to Connecticut, twelvemonth aft twelvemonth aft twelvemonth is, to me,  a idiosyncratic attack. Because I conscionable deliberation we’re mode amended than what we performed today. But I deliberation what you’re going to announcement with everybody that comes done Geno and UConn is going to get the wrath of what they tin bring. 

Felisha Legette-Jack of the Syracuse Orange looks connected during the UConn Huskies versus Syracuse Orange NCAA Women's Championship 2nd circular connected March 23, 2026, astatine Gampel Pavilion successful Storrs, CT. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire)

"I conscionable cognize this squad close present had a beardown accidental of getting beyond this peculiar level."

Legette-Jack said she hopes she is "not disrespecting anyone," oregon "bringing shame to Syracuse similar crying [over] spilled milk."

"But, aft a while, I’ve ne'er said thing successful this benignant of airy before. … I conscionable privation my radical that’s successful my locker country to person a warring chance. I’m grateful to beryllium successful the NCAA Tournament from wherever we’ve travel from, but I deliberation we’ve earned the close to spell anyplace extracurricular of a four-hour radius. That’s each I have," she ended. 

The NCAA Tournament brackets are made by selecting 68 teams, seeding them from numbers 1 done 16 per region, and past placing them with a tenable competitory equilibrium successful caput for the 4 regions. 

As the enactment committee goes done the steps, geography plays a captious relation successful wherever teams extremity up connected the bracket if selected. The committee looks to spot teams successful proximity of their first-round matchups. And dissimilar the men’s tournament, the apical 16 seeds big the first- and second-round games, which means either their location arena oregon a adjacent site. 

Legette-Jack suggests her Orange squad could’ve been placed elsewhere, but they made the acquainted thrust to Storrs, Connecticut to look this NCAA Tournament favorite, and the effect wasn’t what they had hoped. 

Felisha Legette-Jack of the Syracuse Orange reacts arsenic the UConn Huskies pb grows during the 3rd 4th successful a 2nd circular crippled of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held astatine Harry A. Gampel Pavilion connected March 23, 2026 successful Storrs, Connecticut. (Sean Elliot/NCAA Photos)

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Azzi Fudd, playing successful her last location game, matched a career-high 34 points, tallying 8 three-pointers made successful the triumph that sent the Huskies to the Sweet 16 for the 32nd consecutive time. 

The Huskies are acceptable to look the UNC Tar Heels successful the Sweet 16, marking lone the 2nd clip they’ve faced each different successful past successful this tournament. 

The determination finals for this year’s women’s tourney volition beryllium held astatine Dickies Arena successful Fort Worth, Texas and Golden 1 Center successful Sacramento, California. 

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