Syracuse Orange men’s basketball will welcome two New York schools back to the JMA Wireless Dome this season.
The Orange will once again host the Colgate Raiders on December 8th, the program announced on Thursday. Syracuse holds a 129-47 advantage in the series, but the last four games have been split. Matt Langel’s squad was 18-15 overall. 11-7 in the Patriot League in 2025-26. Included in that was a 72-69 win over Gerry McNamara’s Siena squad.
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Sources told Nunes Magician that Syracuse will host the Canisius Golden Griffins from the Metro Conference (fka MAAC) inside the JMA Wireless Dome on December 16 as part of its 2026-27 non-conference schedule.
In his first-year with the Orange, McNamara has stated that he wants to get local mid-majors on the schedule, and he’s backed it up with his scheduling. Syracuse’s matchups with Colgate and Canisius join a reported matchup with UAlbany, along with reported exhibition games against Niagara and Siena. During his time at Siena, McNamara coached against the Golden Griffins four times, going 3-1 and lost to Colgate last season.
NCAA Basketball: Colgate at Syracuse
A few of Syracuse’s players have experience facing Canisius, as McNamara brought three transfers with him from Siena, in guard Gavin Doty, forward Francis Folefac, and big man Tasman Goodrick.
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Canisius finished the season 10-21, and missed the MAAC Tournament for the second consecutive season. Head coach Jim Christian is just 13-49 in two seasons at the helm of the program, including 8-32 in MAAC play. In May, the MAAC announced that it would be rebranding to the Metro Conference, as to avoid confusion with the MAC.
This offseason, Canisius has gone through a full roster turnover, not returning a single player from last season’s team. Of the players coming in, Skaneateles native Nate Fouts, a transfer from Le Moyne, stands as one of the key pieces. Fouts scored 11 points in Le Moyne’s near-upset of Syracuse on opening night in 2024-25.
Christian served as the head coach at Boston College from 2014 to 2021. During that span, he faced Syracuse 14 times, and won just twice, never winning at the Dome.
Syracuse last played against Canisius in the second game of the Red Autry era, defeating a Reggie Witherspoon-led Griffs team 89-77, with Judah Mintz scoring 26 points. The Orange have played against Canisius 71 times, but just twice in the last 15 years. The Orange are 47-24 in those meetings, and haven’t lost to the Griffs since February 15, 1975, before Jim Boeheim was even the head coach.
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McNamara twice played against Canisius during his career, notching 87-69 and 87-70 wins during his freshman and sophomore campaigns. The Griffs’ coach at the time was Mike MacDonald, who is now the head coach at St. Bonaventure. MacDonald said on the ‘SBUnfurled and Friends Podcast’ in April that he tried to get Syracuse on the Bonnies’ schedule, but that the Orange were already full for this coming season.
So far, Syracuse’s non-conference schedule looks as follows:
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November 9: Indiana (Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)
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November 21: Lafayette (JMA Wireless Dome)
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December 1: at Oklahoma (ACC/SEC Challenge)
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December 8: Colgate (JMA Wireless Dome)
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December 16: Canisius (JMA Wireless Dome)
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Date TBD: Rutgers (Barclays Center)
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Exhibition Game, October 13: UConn (Mohegan Sun, Uncasville)
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Exhibition Game, October 24: Niagara (KeyBank Center, Buffalo)
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Exhibition Game, Date TBD: Siena (MVP Arena)* not finalized, but reported to be in talks as of May
SU’s ACC opponents have also been revealed, with a fascinating home slate including games against Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, and Louisville.
