Syracuse basketball announces second non-conference game date for the upcoming season

The Orange will face former Big East rival Providence at TD Garden in Boston less than a week before Christmas.

Mar 13, 2020; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; The exterior of TD Garden is seen as the NBA season is on hold due to concerns over the Covid 19 coronavirus. TD Garden is open to only to essential personnel. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

With NCAA Div. I teams allowed to play 32 regular season games beginning this upcoming 2026-27 season, it also added a 14th game to Syracuse basketball's non-ACC slate of 18 games.

Gerry McNamara brings his own scheduling philosophy back to the 'Cuse in his first season as he and his staff fill those 14 slots, and the glaring need to replace three tough games caused by SU's withdrawal from the Player's Era Festival in Las Vegas.

With the meeting in Indianapolis vs. Indiana (Nov. 9) already revealed, SU on Tuesday announced the game date of its neutral court matchup against Providence in Boston, a contest that had been previously widely reported.

The Orange and Friars part of the Hall of Fame Series at TD Garden in Boston

The two games being played in the 2026 Hall of Fame Series in Boston (televised on TNT) will be contested 43 days apart.

Michigan and Connecticut first square-off November 6, a rematch of programs that met in last season's national championship game, during the upcoming regular season's first week of games.

Syracuse and Providence then wait until Saturday, December 19 (game time still pending), to renew a rivalry that dates back to the 1969-70 campaign. The teams last met in the 2012-13 season, an 84-59 'Cuse rout in the Dome.

In the heyday of the Big East, the Orange ran off a 21-game winning streak against the Friars between 1980-1990, and, of course, the biggest game between the two programs was the 1987 NCAA national semifinals at the then-Louisiana Superdome, a 77-63 SU victory.

"(We) are excited to participate in the Hall of Fame Series and appreciate the opportunity to return to New England," McNamara said in promoting the game with its sponsors, and in regards to scheduling a non-league contest against an opponent from a Div. I power conference in an NBA arena. "It's an area that includes a large and enthusiastic group of SU alumni and fans."

What is known about the rest of non-conference opponents

For one, it takes time to schedule games in large professional sports arenas that host many events simultaneously to the college hoops calendar.

Besides Indiana and Providence, we are waiting on updates regarding the widely reported games against St. John's at Madison Square Garden, and Rutgers at Barclays Center.

The Orange will face an SEC team on the road in the "Challenge" game, and an ACC source told us two weeks ago several opponents have been considered. SU will also face upstate teams Albany, Colgate, and Cornell, still leaving six games that have to be finalized for the non-ACC portion of the slate.

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