Syracuse basketball will face a new Division I team in its upcoming season opener

Sure, there will be a lot of hype surrounding the Tuesday, October 13 exhibition game between Syracuse and Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun Arena, as we get our first glimpse of Gerry McNamara and his new-look Orange roster.

Essentially the refereed scrimmage renews the rivalry to a small extent against a longtime former foe and a top-tier opponent (with a slightly tilted neutral court advantage to the in-state Huskies), in one of the three preseason games teams are now allowed to play.

But even that mid-October spotlight will not match up with the official debut when the clock tips-off the regular season for all teams on Monday, November 2.

The school announced Thursday that G-Mac's first game as Syracuse head coach will be against Division I newcomer New Haven on that opening date, in the team's first Dome appearance.

A strong 'Nutmeg' scent mixed in with the Orange's first week of the season

Although it is officially known as the Constitution State (as seen on the state's license plates), a majority of the state's residents also identify to residing in the "Nutmeg State", thanks to a group of early settlers who also happened to be pretty good making prosperous "spice" deals on the side.

We have already mentioned the SU rivalry reignited on a small scale with UConn, the state university, now the season's first week will consist of more Connecticut flavor. with the New Haven matchup in game one, followed three nights later with a Dome meeting against fellow Northeast Conference member Central Connecticut State.

Those two home games will then be followed by the first regular season marquee game against another Power conference opponent in Indiana in Indy, in front of what will be a partisan home crowd that will rather reluctantly make its way to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Final note on New Haven, the Chargers (14-7, 9-9 last season) officially jumped from their longtime (nearly 55 seasons) home in Div. II up to Div. I just last year. Interestingly, the NCAA Division I Council earlier this year approved a new reclassification model that allows schools a criteria path to shave off a year (4-to-3) to gain Div. I eligibility (used by both New Haven and fellow NEC member Le Moyne).

Last five Syracuse head coaches, covering a period of 76 years, were 4-1 in their debut games

Here is the list in reverse chronological order:

2023 - Adrian Autry - defeated New Hampshire 83-72 in the Dome.

1976 - Jim Boeheim -defeated Harvard 75-48 in Springfield, Mass.

1968 - Roy Danforth - lost to Cornell 93-81 in Ithaca, N.Y.

1962 - Fred Lewis - defeated Kent State 36-35 in the first game at Manley Field House.

1950 - Marc Guley - defeated Toronto 101-39 at the State Fair Coliseum.

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