UConn’s 53-Point Syracuse Blowout Called A “Personal Attack” By Coach

Whether it’s the NBA playoffs or the NCAA March Madness, lowly ranked teams know they’re likely going to get whooped if not for some Cinderella miracle moment.

On the ladies’ side of the NCAA tourney, the one team you don’t want to ever have to go up against is UConn.

The 12-time champion, Geno Auriemma-led squad is known for their insane streaks (including a 111-game winning streak from 2014-2017), and Syracuse had the impossible task of going up against them in the round of 32.

Unsurprisingly, the Orange got absolutely pummeled, and it was pretty clear early on when UConn opened up with a streak and ended the first quarter, 33-8, after a 31-point run.

It was more of the same in the second quarter as UConn had a staggering 65-12 lead.

Competition evened out in the second half, but the damage was already done at the hands of Azzi Fudd. UConn cruised to a 98-45 win, and Syracuse’s coach Felisha Legette-Jack was pretty upset. But not just about this loss, but because it’s been a routine heartbreak.

“For us to do what we’ve done, to continuously have to come to UConn, and every single school that I go to…It’s unfair to the young people,” she said in the post-game presser. “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.”

Unlike the men’s March Madness games —which are hosted around the country at somewhat neutral locations— the top four women’s teams host games on their own campus, which gives them a crazy home-floor advantage 

“After being in this business for 37 years, and to have to come and be in this particular bracket every fricking year is unacceptable,” Legette-Jack continued. “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. 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.”

Legette-Jack did salute Auriemma and UConn for building a world-class women’s team, but with her team going 26-9 for the season and 12-6 in the ACC, they were hoping to go further.

See the social media reaction to the blowout below, with this much blowback.