The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team is continuing to finalize the non-conference schedule for 2026-27, and now, it appears a familiar in-state opponent the program has faced many times before will be on the slate.
Syracuse and St. John’s are working on an agreement to face off at Madison Square Garden during the upcoming season, according to a new report released Tuesday by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Right now, it’s unclear when this game will be, according to Rothstein.
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If confirmed, this will be the second Big East opponent Syracuse will compete against during the upcoming year. The Orange are already set to play a non-con game versus Providence in Boston.
Of course, the two programs are quite familiar with each other, given their history of being in the same conference.
The Orange are 52-43 all-time versus the Red Storm dating back to March 1901. St. John’s has won the last four in the series. It will be the first matchup between the former Big East rivals since the 2022-23 season.
This will also be the first game in years that Syracuse will play in front of The Garden. Syracuse last competed at MSG in December 2021 against Villanova.
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Syracuse will face Donnie Freeman when the two schools meet. Freeman transferred to the Red Storm this spring after leading the Orange in scoring with 16.5 points per game. The head coach of the Red Storm, Rick Pitino, is also no stranger to the program. Pitino previously served as an assistant with the Orange decades ago.
Previous reporting suggests Syracuse was looking to schedule five non-con games against Power Five schools this year. Besides the St. John’s matchup, the Orange will also face Providence, Indiana (in Indianapolis), and an SEC school as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. In theory, that leaves one P5 opponent yet to be announced and confirmed.
The Red Storm will also likely be one of the toughest tests Syracuse could see all year. St. John’s was placed at No. 17 on CBS Sports’ recent way-too-early Top 25 And 1 rankings.
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We’ll continue updating you on any further scheduling news as it comes up.
