Well any complaints about Syracuse having too easy of a schedule in 2025 are surely now going to be erased. The first matchups of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas this November have been reported, and it’s no smooth road for SU.
In the first two rounds of the tournament, the Orange are set to face Houston and Kansas, two teams who almost surely are going to be ranked entering the season (and probably will be in November too).
Houston of course is the tougher of the two. The Cougars finished second in the nation this year and enter the 2025-26 as a favorite to win it all.
But Kansas is no walk in the park either. In preseason ranking, the Jayhawks have been ranked as high as #14 in the nation. And you can never sleep on a blue blood like Kansas. No matter where the Jayhawks are going to be ranked come November, a win would look great on SU’s resume to return to March Madness.
So what should we think of these matchups for Syracuse? There’s certainly two sides to it.
On one hand, this is a terrific opportunity for SU. The Orange have missed the tournament four years in a row now and badly need to get back. To get to that point, the Orange will need to have some Q1 wins, and this is a perfect opportunity to do so.
But on the other side of the coin, Syracuse hasn’t had the best luck in these invitational tournaments. Look at recent matchups against Gonzaga and Tennessee. Getting blown out isn’t the best look either.
At the end of the day, Syracuse will be getting good NIL money from this tournament and some big chances for wins. Now the Orange actually has to cash in on those chances.
