No. 9 seed Syracuse faces its hardest take a look at of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Monday when the Orange tackle top-ranked and undefeated UConn (35-0) in the second spherical of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, with tipoff set for six p.m. on ESPN.
Syracuse enters the matchup using the momentum of a 72-63 first-round victory over Iowa State, powered by a dominant efficiency from freshman middle Uche Izoje, who completed with 23 factors, and a career-high 15-point outing from sophomore guard Olivia Schmitt — who knocked down 5 straight three-pointers in the second quarter to place the sport away. The Orange have now superior to the second spherical in eight of their final 9 NCAA Tournament appearances and are 24-8 on the season after being picked to complete thirteenth in the ACC preseason ballot.
Standing in Syracuse’s manner is a UConn program that has been a recurring nemesis. The Orange are 12-41 all-time in opposition to the Huskies and haven’t defeated them since Jan. 2, 1996, when present head coach Felisha Legette-Jack was an assistant on the Syracuse teaching employees. Legette-Jack’s connection to UConn runs deeper than simply the all-time collection — Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma truly recruited a younger Legette-Jack when he was an assistant at Virginia in the mid-Nineteen Eighties. She selected to remain house and develop into an All-American at Syracuse, and Auriemma went on to construct a dynasty in Storrs. Now the 2 are set to fulfill in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.
This is the fourth time in the final 5 tournaments that Syracuse and UConn have met in the second spherical — three of these matchups going down in Storrs. The Orange’s deepest assembly with the Huskies stays their 2016 National Championship recreation look, when a 4-seed Syracuse squad fell 82-51 in Indianapolis after a magical event run. A win Monday could be this system’s second Sweet Sixteen look and first since that historic 2016 season.
Legette-Jack has constructed one thing actual in her 4 years on The Hill, doubling final season’s win whole and incomes one of the vital dramatic turnarounds in the ACC. Monday evening is the subsequent chapter.
Tickets are on sale at uconnhuskies.com/tickets. Fans unable to make the journey to Storrs can watch dwell on ESPN at 6 p.m.
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