ESPN has locked in the start times and TV windows for Syracuse’s two ACC/SEC Challenge matchups with Oklahoma, and both Orange programs will get a national stage against the Sooners.
The Syracuse women will host Oklahoma at the JMA Wireless Dome on Thursday, Dec. 3, with tip set for 7:00 pm EST on ESPNU. Two nights earlier, the Syracuse men head to Norman for a Tuesday, Dec. 1 showdown that will begin at 9:00 pm EST, also on ESPNU.
ESPN said Monday that the announcer pairings for the women’s and men’s games “will be announced closer to the event.”
The women’s matchup brings together two programs coming off strong seasons. Syracuse finished 24-9 overall and reached the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Oklahoma went 26-8 and advanced to the Sweet 16 in this past spring’s tournament. The two teams have met just once before, when Oklahoma beat Syracuse 82-63 in the 2011-12 season at a neutral site in Las Vegas.
Oklahoma also showed up in ESPN’s super-early preseason top 25 for the 2026-27 campaign, landing at No. 24 when the rankings were released in late April.
On the men’s side, Syracuse enters after a 15-17 season in 2025-26, with former standout guard Gerry McNamara having taken over the program’s helm this past March. Oklahoma, coached by Porter Moser, finished 21-16 and made a run to the title game of the College Basketball Crown before falling to West Virginia.
The men’s series has been a little busier than the women’s, though not by much. Syracuse and Oklahoma are tied 2-2 all time, and their latest meeting came in the Sweet 16 of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, a game the Sooners won 84-71. That Oklahoma team was led by Blake Griffin, who was the national player of the year in 2008-09.
But Syracuse fans will remember the matchup that came before that. As a No. 3 seed in 2003, the Orange knocked off No. 1 seed Oklahoma in the Elite Eight on the way to the Final Four. Syracuse went on to win its first and only national championship that season behind Carmelo Anthony and McNamara, among others.
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