Syracuse’s men’s basketball schedule keeps coming into focus, and the latest piece is a familiar one. The Orange will face Colgate on Dec. 8 at the JMA Wireless Dome, giving the in-state matchup another chapter after a year off in 2024-25.
That game will be the 177th meeting between the schools, a rivalry that stretches back to 1908. Syracuse has controlled the series overall, holding a 129-47 edge, and it has won the two most recent matchups. Colgate did get Syracuse in the 2022-23 regular season, though, which keeps this one from feeling routine.
The Colgate date joins a growing list of confirmed games for Syracuse’s upcoming season. The Orange will open their home schedule against New Haven on Nov. 2, then stay at home for Central Connecticut State on Nov.
- They’ll also meet Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Nov.
In December, Syracuse will get a major nonconference test in the ACC/SEC Challenge when Oklahoma comes to the JMA Wireless Dome on Dec. 1. Later that month, the Orange will take on Providence at TD Garden in Boston on Dec. 19, bringing back an old BIG EAST matchup.
One more nonconference game remains on the board as well: Syracuse has announced a meeting with St. John’s, but the date still hasn’t been set. Conference dates and times are also still to come.
Elsewhere around Syracuse athletics, Boeheim’s Army finalized the last additions to its roster for this month’s TBT event. The team includes former Orange players Eric Devendorf, Wes Johnson, and Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim, with the newest names on the roster expected to raise a few eyebrows among Syracuse fans.
And in Charlotte, Fran Brown and three Syracuse football players are taking part in this year’s ACC Football Kickoff, where coaches and players from around the league are being interviewed. Brown also said he felt disrespected during this week’s event.
In Other News...
Syracuse Mourns Former Quarterback And CBA Standout Chuck Zimmerman
Chuck Zimmerman, the former Syracuse quarterback who helped guide the Orange to two of the earliest bowl games in program history, has died at 90 in Jamesville. Zimmerman played for Syracuse from 1956 to 1958 and later remained part of the city he represented on the field, serving in the U.S. Army and staying active in the Syracuse community.
His time in orange included a run that helped send Syracuse to the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl, milestones that still matter in the schools football story. A burial mass is scheduled for July 21 at St. Rose of Lima Church in North Syracuse, offering one more chance for the Syracuse community to honor a player whose impact reached well beyond his college years. [Read more 🡒]
Boeheims Army Finally Has Its Coach As TBT Pressure Builds
Boeheims Army finally has its sideline set for this years run in The Basketball Tournament, a late but important development as the Syracuse-connected group prepares to open play in a best-of-3 series against Hall In. The staff now includes assistants Shaun Belbey and Pete Corasaniti, giving the team a more complete coaching structure as it tries to navigate the pressure that comes with every TBT summer.
The most interesting part is how quickly the pieces have come together around a coach with plenty of pro experience. The new lead voice comes from the Long Island Nets, where he is currently an assistant and has also spent time with other G League teams and NBA affiliates, while Belbey and Corasaniti bring their own Syracuse ties into the mix. With the bracket looming and the format leaving little room for error, Boeheims Army is trying to turn a fresh staff into an immediate edge. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown Is Betting Syracuse's Defense Will Finally Have Answers
Fran Brown has spent his first offseason in charge making it clear he wants Syracuses defense to look a lot more like the units he has been around before, and the latest move shows how serious he is about that. Vince Kehres, who arrived from Toledo and was officially hired in early December 2024, brings two decades of coaching experience with him and gives Brown a fresh voice to help reshape a side of the ball that needs answers.
The change also speaks to how quickly Brown is willing to adjust when he thinks a better fit is available. Syracuse moved Elijah Robinson into a co-coordinator role, but Robinson ended up heading back to Texas A&M as a defensive line coach, leaving Brown to keep building around Kehres and the kind of structure he believes can work in the ACC. [Read more 🡒]