While Coach Jack admits her statement may be criticized as “spill milk,” she has a point.
Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack took aim at her program’s continued insertion into powerhouse Connecticut’s NCAA tournament bracket, highlighting one of the growing issues with hosting first weekend games on the school’s campus instead of a neutral site.
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“After 37 years in this industry, it’s unacceptable to have to come to this particular level every year,” Leggett-Jack said in a lengthy opening statement after losing 98-45 to top-seeded UConn in the second round of the Fort Worth 1 Regional in Storrs, Conn. “It’s wrong.”
For the third time in its number of appearances in the NCAA Tournament, Syracuse was included in UConn’s first- and second-round games. It was the third time the Orange were stopped by a team that has made 16 Final Four appearances in the past 17 years. During this time, they won a record 7 of 12 national championships.
The women’s tournament grants the top 16 teams overall the right to host the first weekend of games, giving those teams huge home-field advantage, which mid-major coaches across the country have pointed to as a key reason for fewer upsets this week than their men’s teams.
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It also means that for a program geographically located in a region of solid powerhouses, it’s almost certain to hit a dead end before the Sweet 16. Unless they win their own hosting spot, they are usually placed at the nearest location. Especially as the conference realigns to expand across the country and move away from regionalized alliances.
Once the Women’s Championship Basketball Committee selects the 68 teams and determines seeding, a bracket will be established based on a number of principles, including travel distance. Technically, teams are assigned to regions and first-round/second-round venues in an S-curve order, but taking into account travel distance, transportation options and fan accessibility to the venues. The committee prefers that teams travel by bus if possible and allows each team to have a large attendance.
One of the downsides of this altruistic approach is the continued disadvantage of certain projects. If there are other principles at play – namely the principle of preventing replays and conferences – it can get messy.
“Everything we do and the work we do, has to come and play against the best team in the country, I mean, Geno [Auriemma] Keep it going, I love what he does,” Legatejack said. “But I think we deserve more respect.
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The committee ranks Syracuse at No. 36, at the bottom of the list of No. 9 seeds, behind USC, Princeton and Virginia Tech. USC travels across the country to Columbia, South Carolina. Generally, teams from the same conference (USC and UCLA) are separated before the regional finals. Princeton is the only school geographically close to Storrs, joining UCLA across the country in Los Angeles. Virginia Tech went to Austin, Texas. Villanova competes as the No. 37 seed and is the only team in the Big East Conference.
The Orange (24-9) are ranked seventh in the ACC, five spots higher than their No. 13 ranking in the ACC preseason coaches and blue ribbon polls. They return to the NCAA Tournament with a NET ranking of 39th after finishing a year with a 12-18 record. Freshman center Uche Izoje earned the conference’s Rookie of the Year award as their interior engine.
Leggett-Jack worried that her lengthy opening statement would look like “spilled milk.” She makes a valid point, one that will continue to be an issue as financial incentives continue to accrue. This is the first time the women’s tournament has used “units,” financial incentives awarded by the NCAA to each conference based on each team’s performance in the tournament.
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“A lot of people are talking about revenue sharing; I just want the young guys in the locker room to have a fighting chance,” Leggett-Jack said. “I’m grateful to be able to go to the NCAA tournament from our hometown, but I think we’ve earned the right to go anywhere outside of a four-hour radius.”
In 2024, No. 6 seed Syracuse lost to No. 3 seed UConn 72-64. Linebacker Diasha Fair, who arrived from Buffalo along with Leggett Jack, nearly led the Orange to an upset. The Huskies made it to the Final Four, as they always do.
In 2021, ninth-ranked Syracuse lost to No. 1 UConn 83-47. The entire tournament is being held in San Antonio for the second year following the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee did not use geography, so the contest appears to be a coincidence. The two programs also met in the second round in 2017, with No. 1 UConn beating No. 8 Syracuse 94-64.
Leggett-Jack questioned whether this was a personal attack on her. She also faced off against UConn in 2019 as the head coach at Buffalo, a mid-level conference two hours west of Syracuse. The Bulls reached the Sweet 16 as the No. 11 seed and became the Cinderella of the tournament, losing to UConn 84-72 in the second round a year later.
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UConn allowed Syracuse to score eight points in the first quarter and scored a historic 31 points in the second half, leading 65-12 into halftime. Azzi Fudd, one of two Huskies finalists for National Player of the Year, scored 26 points in the half and tied career highs in points and 3-pointers made.
The Huskies outscored teams by an average of 38.8 points with a 52.3 net rating, which ranks third all-time behind two teams from the Breanna Stewart era. They have won seven games by at least 50 points. Legette-Jack said she noticed distractions among the team and the looks at the 12 national championship banners.
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“I just thought we were a lot better than we were today,” Leggett-Jack said. “But I think you’ll notice that everyone who comes from Gino and UConn is going to be outraged by what they bring to the table.
“I just know that this team here has a good chance of exceeding this particular level.”
