The Orange are Dancing! Syracuse Punches Its Ticket to the NCAA Tournament
3/15/2026 8:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Orange are going dancing! The Syracuse women's basketball team has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, marking the 14th trip to The Big Dance in program history and second time in three years. The Orange, who are 23-8 overall and posted a 12-6 mark in ACC play, earned an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.
Syracuse has been placed in the Fort Worth Region as a 9-seed and will face Iowa State, the 8-seed out of the Big 12 Conference, in the First Round next weekend in Storrs, Connecticut.
Syracuse leads the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (16.8) and ranks seventh in the nation. SU is second in the league in steals per game (10.6) and turnovers forced per game (18.9).Â
Leading the charge for Syracuse this season has been ACC Rookie of the Year Uche Izoje, who averages 15.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Izoje earned All-ACC First Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team honors in her first season with the Orange. Additionally, she was selected as the ACC Rookie of the Week a program-record eight times during the regular season. Laila Phelia (All-ACC Second Team) is second on the team in scoring with 13.7 ppg while Dominique Darius adds 12.6 ppg. Junior Sophie Burrows, the Kay Yow ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, rounds out the Orange offensive punch with 11.2 ppg.Â
Syracuse is 11-13 all-time in its previous 13 NCAA Tournament. The Orange's most recent tournament appearance came in 2023-24, when the program made its return to the national stage for the first time since 2021 and first appearance under Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack. The program's deepest run came in 2015-16, when the Orange advanced all the way to the National Championship Game posting a 30-8 overall record losing to UConn in the title game.
The full NCAA Tournament bracket and schedule can be found at ncaa.com.
More information regarding Syracuse's first round game including date, time, television designation and tickets will be available soon.Â
