Syracuse’s head coach, Felisha Legette-Jack, voiced strong criticism against the NCAA selection committee after her team was paired once more with the formidable UConn in the tournament.
On Monday evening in Storrs, Connecticut, the Orange faced a challenging 98-45 loss to the defending champions during the second round of March Madness.
This defeat propelled UConn into the Sweet 16 for the 32nd consecutive year, while Syracuse’s journey in the tournament came to an end yet again.
This matchup was the second time in Legette-Jack’s four-year leadership at Syracuse that she went up against Geno Auriemma’s dominant Huskies in the NCAA tournament, and her frustration was palpable.
During the postgame press conference, Legette-Jack used her opening remarks to criticize the selection committee, calling their repeated matchups with UConn a “personal attack.”
“Considering what we’ve accomplished, to repeatedly face UConn, whether I was at Buffalo or here, it’s simply unfair to our young athletes,” she expressed to the media.
Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack tore into the NCAA selection committee
The Orange suffered a 98-45 defeat to UConn in the second round of March Madness
‘I don’t know what it is. Somebody said, is there something that they might have against me? If that’s the case, then we need to communicate about that.’
Even before Legette-Jack took the helm in Syracuse, the Orange couldn’t escape UConn. The Huskies have knocked out Syracuse in five of the program’s last seven trips to the tournament.
Furthermore, during Legette-Jack’s stint as head coach at Buffalo, her squad lost to UConn in Storrs in the second round in 2019.
In the men’s tournament, the top four seeds host games on their campuses in the first two rounds before relocating to neutral venues in later rounds.
However, in the women’s competition, the top 16 seeds host games on their home campuses before the regional rounds – the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight – are played at neutral sites.
‘After being in this business for 37 years, and to have to come and be in this particular bracket every fricking year is unacceptable. It’s wrong. It’s – somebody – and if you’re on the committee and you’ve been around for more than a year or two or five to 10, 15 years, you understand what that looks like,’ Legette-Jack continued.
‘I have been on those committees to see how it’s done, how you can put people on different lines. Put us on a 10-line, whatever. But for us to continue to come to Connecticut year after year after year is, to me, it’s a personal attack, because I just think that we are way better than what we performed today.
‘But I think what you’re going to notice, (is) that everybody that comes through Geno and UConn is going to get the wrath of what they can bring.’
Geno Auriemma’s Huskies sealed their spot in the Sweet 16 for the 32nd consecutive time
However, the NCAA has a motive to place teams in brackets closer to their campus in order to save money. The NCAA has to charter a flight for any team that has to travel at least 400 miles during the opening weekend of the tournament, with the range dipping to 350 miles for the regional finals and Final Four.
Despite her remarks, Legette-Jack made it clear that the selection committee was her target, not the Huskies. She expressed her respect and admiration for UConn’s women’s team before leaving the podium.
‘Just before I go, I just want to say thank you, UConn, for growing women’s basketball to newfound heights every year,’ she said.
‘You just make it great. And our hope is that we can grow our program so that we can be competitive enough so when they bring us back here next year, we’ll be more prepared.’
Azzi Fudd matched her career high with 34 points and eight 3-pointers to lead UConn to the 53-point win over Syracuse.
Sarah Strong had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Blanca Quinonez added 18 points off the bench as the Huskies won their 52nd game in a row to advance to the Sweet 16 once again.
Syracuse (24-9) was down 22-8 with three minutes left in the first quarter. The Orange, playing without injured starting point guard Dominique Darius, struggled to handle UConn’s defensive pressure.
Azzi Fudd matched her career high with 34 points and eight 3-pointers to fuel the win
Syracuse went more than 10 minutes without a field goal as the 31-0 run gave the Huskies the 53-8 lead. From there, there was no way back for the Orange.
Uche Izoje scored 12 points and Sophie Burrows had 10 for ninth-seeded Syracuse (24-9), which topped Iowa State in the first round.
Syracuse missed 10 shots in a row in the first half and went nearly 10 and a half minutes without a basket during one stretch in the first half.
UConn will face North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time. The Tar Heels won 81-69 en route to winning the national title in 1994.
