Syracuse women’s basketball selected as an 8-seed in NCAA Tournament

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team earned an 8-seed in the 2021 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship in the River Walk Region. The Orange will battle the 9-seed South Dakota State in the First Round on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2. The tournament will be held in San Antonio, Texas.

Syracuse currently stands at 14-8 overall. ‘Cuse started the year ranked, earning a spot as high as No. 18/No. 16 in the polls during the third week of the season. The team dropped out of the rankings in Week 10 and did not appear in either poll through the rest of the year. The team earned a 9-7 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play and an 8-1 record at home during the regular season.

In the conference tournament, Syracuse was able to scratch and claw for a trip to the ACC Semifinals despite being without Tiana Mangakahia (lower body injury), Pricilla Williams (upper body injury), and Taleah Washington, Kiara Fisher, Khamya McNeal, and Faith Blackstone (violation of team rules). There is no word yet on Williams’ status, but the Orange are expected to have the other five players available in NCAA’s. Read my full season recap here.

‘Cuse is 2-4 all-time as an 8-seed. The last time the Orange were an 8-seed, the team fell to Oklahoma State, 57-84, in the first round (2018).

This will be Coach Quentin Hillsman’s ninth NCAA Tournament. Q holds an all-time record of 10-8 in the tournament with Syracuse. He led the Orange to their lone NCAA Championship appearance in 2016, where the team fell to UConn in the Finals.

‘Cuse has now made eight straight NCAA Tournaments (2013-19, 2020 not included).