Syracuse basketball opens exhibition play against old Big East rival UConn

College basketball is back!

Tonight it’s an old Big East rivalry renewed as the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team heads to Connecticut to take on UConn.

Syracuse fans can get their first look of the 2026-27 Orange as two storied programs compete in an early-season exhibition. After two summer sessions and fall practices, this Syracuse squad is ready to compete against another team. The Orange get a chance to do that against a program that has played in three of the last four National Championship games.

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Syracuse head coach Gerry McNamara, who played in the Syracuse-UConn rivalry at its peak during the 2000s, described UConn as “no ordinary opponent” for an exhibition.

“We get to challenge (ourselves) against one of the best programs in the country. That will be kind of the next step for us,” McNamara said. “(We’ll) play UConn and get a chance to see where we’re at against the best of the best. As we move the program forward I think this will be a great measuring tool for us of where we are and what we can work on and how we can move forward.”

HARTFORD, CT – FEBRUARY 2: Rashad Anderson #31 of the UCONN Huskies and Gerry McNamara #3 of the Syracuse Orangemen land out of bounds as the both go for a loose ball on February 2, 2004 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Syracuse and UConn have history together as two charter members of the Big East Conference. The Orange left the Big East for the ACC in 2013 while UConn briefly left the conference that same year for the AAC before rejoining the Big East in 2020.

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The two teams have clashed for historic games with eight meetings during the Big East Tournament from the years 2001-2012, including the 6OT epic in the 2009 Big East Tournament in which Syracuse outlasted UConn 127-117.

McNamara took down then-No. 1 UConn at the 2006 Big East Tournament quarterfinals which included a clutch three just before time expired in regulation to send the…

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Publish date : 2026-10-13 16:00:00

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