Syracuse men’s basketball keeps stacking up New York-heavy nonconference games, and the latest additions give the Orange’s 2026-27 schedule even more shape.
The program announced this week that it will face Niagara and Cornell, while a matchup with St. John’s remains in the rumor stage for now. Syracuse has already locked in games with UAlbany, Colgate and Canisius, so the list of familiar in-state opponents keeps growing under new head coach Gerry McNamara.
The Niagara game is set as an exhibition on Oct. 24 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The source material notes that McNamara is familiar with McNamara through his two years at Siena, which is a conference rival of NU.
Cornell will visit the JMA Wireless Dome on Nov. 18. That meeting will be the 130th all-time game between the schools.
Syracuse’s history with Colgate is also part of the picture. The rivalry goes back to 1901, the Orange have won 44 straight against the Big Bed, and Syracuse leads the series 98-31. The source also says Cornell last beat Syracuse in Dec. of 1968.
As for St. John’s, national reporter Jon Rothstein said the Orange and Red Storm are set to play on Nov.
- Syracuse has not confirmed the details yet, but the game would be at Madison Square Garden, which McNamara was passionate about making happen.
Those new dates push Syracuse into double digits in confirmed games for the 2026-27 schedule. The slate currently includes New Haven at home on Nov.
2, Central Connecticut State at home on Nov. 5, Indiana in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Nov.
9, UAlbany at the JMA Wireless Dome on Nov. 25, Oklahoma in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec.
1, Colgate at home on Dec. 8, Canisius at the JMA Wireless Dome on Dec. 16, and Providence against the Orange in Boston at TD Garden on Dec.
Conference game dates and times have not been set yet.
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