The Dome (can we still call it that?) goalposts were taken down yesterday.
Orange nation, you know what that means. Jim Boeheim’s squad is back on the hardwood in less than three weeks. It’s obviously going to be a unique season. The Dome will probably be without fans. There won’t be a non-conference tournament, or the usual game or two in New York City. SU won’t face its favorite Patriot League foe Colgate and may miss out on another “Battle of the Boeheims,” as Jimmy Boeheim’s Cornell team’s season sits in the hands of Ivy League administrators. However, we are most likely going to get basketball. And after this dreadful football season, the 315 needs some holiday cheer.
What We Know
Syracuse’s opening game is set against Bryant on October 27th. The Bulldogs went 15-17 last year under second-year head coach Jared Grasso, and finished in ninth place in the Northeast Conference. Don’t expect much of a fight from the Bulldogs. However, a cool storyline heading into the opener is the Central New York natives on the Bryant squad. Guard Charles Price won a state championship back in 2018 at Liverpool High School, and sophomore forward Luke Sutherland attended West Genesee High.
Besides the two other games against Rutgers at the RAC (which is going to be a great one) and Georgetown, who lost a ton of talent to the transfer portal, there is blank space Syracuse still has to fill. 
What We Don’t
Syracuse is still missing some non-conference games. Teams are allowed to play a maximum of 25, and if the ACC sticks with its 20-game conference portion, that means SU has two gaps to fill. The conference has not announced any scheduling specifics yet, but they’ll have to do so in the next two weeks. NCAA hoops contests are allowed to begin on November 25th.
Keep an eye out for ACC’s “Operation Basketball” event on Wednesday, Nov. 11th, and Thursday, Nov. 12th from 7-9 PM. The head coaches will participate in discussion panels on the ACC Network. The preseason all-ACC teams and standings come out Wednesday morning as well.
