Orange Face #1 UConn in NCAA Tournament Monday Night

No. 9 seed Syracuse faces its toughest test of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Monday when the Orange take on top-ranked and undefeated UConn (35-0) in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.

Syracuse enters the matchup riding the momentum of a 72-63 first-round victory over Iowa State, powered by a dominant performance from freshman center Uche Izoje, who finished with 23 points, and a career-high 15-point outing from sophomore guard Olivia Schmitt — who knocked down five straight three-pointers in the second quarter to put the game away. The Orange have now advanced to the second round in eight of their last nine NCAA Tournament appearances and are 24-8 on the season after being picked to finish 13th in the ACC preseason poll.

Standing in Syracuse's way is a UConn program that has been a recurring nemesis. The Orange are 12-41 all-time against the Huskies and have not defeated them since Jan. 2, 1996, when current head coach Felisha Legette-Jack was an assistant on the Syracuse coaching staff. Legette-Jack's connection to UConn runs deeper than just the all-time series — Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma actually recruited a young Legette-Jack when he was an assistant at Virginia in the mid-1980s. She chose to stay home and become an All-American at Syracuse, and Auriemma went on to build a dynasty in Storrs. Now the two are set to meet in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.

This is the fourth time in the last five tournaments that Syracuse and UConn have met in the second round — three of those matchups taking place in Storrs. The Orange's deepest meeting with the Huskies remains their 2016 National Championship game appearance, when a 4-seed Syracuse squad fell 82-51 in Indianapolis after a magical tournament run. A win Monday would be the program's second Sweet Sixteen appearance and first since that historic 2016 season.

Legette-Jack has built something real in her four years on The Hill, doubling last season's win total and earning one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the ACC. Monday night is the next chapter.

Tickets are on sale at uconnhuskies.com/tickets. Fans unable to make the trip to Storrs can watch live on ESPN at 6 p.m.

For more on Syracuse women's basketball, follow @CuseWBB on social media.