Some alterations to 2025-26 Syracuse basketball's pre-conference schedule

Changes include the Orange taking advantage of a year-old rule that allows exhibition games (and closed scrimmages) against Division I teams, with a neutral court game at Buffalo October 25.

Mar 12, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Syracuse Orange head coach Adrian Autrey reacts to a call by the official during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

With two games still to be officially announced as of August 5, there's some change to the make-up of the early portion of the 2025-26 SU basketball schedule.

While one consistent is a tough November tournament this year (and next year) in the Player's Era event in Las Vegas stacked with top-ranked teams and the ACC-SEC Challenge contest, there will be a road exhibition game for the first time, and no early ACC road game on the first Saturday of December.

Playing Buffalo in Buffalo makes sense to start the season

Why not start this crucially important season with a road test, instead of playing another Division II team in the Dome in what about 90% of the time results in a one-sided victory?

Not only will the neutral court game at Buffalo's Key Bank Center provide a different atmosphere than a virtually empty Dome, but it brings the team in front of the Western New York 'Cuse faithful in an NBA-quality arena, which will also service as one of eight first/second round sites of the NCAA Tournament.

Getting the feel of any arena, especially an NCAA site, is not something to discount in a season in which going "Dancing" is really the only end result that will be acceptable to the program's stakeholders.

No early ACC (road) game opens up a spot

Since the ACC has reduced its conference schedule from 20 to 18 games beginning this year, a move that has resulted in a lot of criticism about the loss of traditional home-and home series especially along Tobacco Road, there is no need to squeeze in a league game the first weekend in December.

In the past six seasons that the ACC played 20 conference games, the weekend of those games always placed SU on the road due to the state high school football playoffs taking over the Dome. It was a built in disadvantage to automatically open up ACC play on the road, but Syracuse responded with a 4-2 record in those early games over that span.

(In the 2019-20 season, the ACC had each team open the regular season with a conference game, and SU lost to Virginia 48-34 in the Dome. The Orange then beat Georgia Tech in the first December game.)

Now that the first Saturday in December is open, and no game yet announced, it will be interesting to see if that date stays open or not. The 'Cuse will be coming off a tough five game stretch of games against St. Joseph's, Houston, Kansas and another quality team in Las Vegas, and Tennessee in the "Challenge" game.

It just might make more sense at that point of the early season grind to enjoy an open weekend.

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