Syracuse’s 2026-27 men’s basketball schedule is starting to take shape, and the first confirmed non-conference home date is now on the board.
The Orange will host Central Connecticut State at the JMA Wireless Dome on Thursday, Nov. 5, according to a release from the SU athletic department. That game lands in the first week of the regular season and marks Syracuse’s first officially announced non-conference home matchup for the year.
It will also be a rare one between these programs. Syracuse and Central Connecticut State have met only once before, when the Orange rolled to a 96-62 win on Dec. 31, 2012.
Syracuse enters the season with Gerry McNamara at the helm. The former SU star is back at his alma mater after spending the last two years as head coach at Siena.
Central Connecticut State is led by Pat Sellers, who is also coaching at his alma mater. Sellers will be in his sixth season with the Blue Devils, who went 18-12 last year.
There are still more home dates expected to surface. Unconfirmed reports have Syracuse hosting Lafayette on Nov. 21 and playing Albany on a date that has not yet been determined.
The Orange have already lined up several notable non-conference games away from the Dome. Syracuse is set to play Indiana on Nov. 9 in Indianapolis, Oklahoma in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 1, and Providence at Boston’s TD Garden on Dec. 19.
Syracuse is also working on games against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden and Rutgers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
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The list also stretches beyond 2028, with Syracuse already making at least one offer in the 2029 class as well. For a program trying to keep pace in elite recruiting circles, that kind of early positioning matters, even if the full board is still taking shape and the next big question is which of those early targets will become real Orange priorities down the line. [Read more 🡒]