Syracuse Basketball: With Rider, non-conference docket may be complete

Syracuse basketball will host MAAC member Rider on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Syracuse basketball will welcome Rider to the Carrier Dome in early December, the Orange athletics department announced, and that could conceivably wrap up the ‘Cuse non-conference schedule in 2020-21.

Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, NCAA rules for the 2020-21 college basketball season say that teams can play a maximum of 27 regular-stanza contests, but if they don’t participate in a multiple-team event, they may only compete in 25 games within the regular term.

At this juncture, Syracuse basketball plans to suit up against Bryant this Friday, Nov. 27, with tip-off anticipated at 3 pm in the Orange’s 2020-21 campaign opener.

Rider will head to the Hill on Saturday, Dec. 5, for a 6 pm contest, per cuse.com.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Tuesday that, as part of the 2020 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Orange will travel to Rutgers on Tuesday, Dec. 8, with a late-night start time of 9:30 pm.

Buffalo visits the Dome on Saturday, Dec. 19, with the tip-off time to be determined. Finally, former Big East Conference rival Georgetown will make a trip to Central New York on Saturday, Jan. 9, with the tip-off time TBD.

Since Syracuse basketball has 20 ACC clashes on its 2020-21 docket, unless the ‘Cuse joins a multiple-team event, my sense is that the Orange’s non-conference calendar may prove done.

There have been reports of late that the ‘Cuse could play Binghamton, but I haven’t seen anything official from Syracuse basketball on this.

Rider is the latest non-conference foe added to the Syracuse basketball 2020-21 schedule.

When the Orange and Rider go toe to toe in the near future, it will come 70 years after the teams’ only other encounter. Cuse.com says that Syracuse basketball defeated the Broncs at home, 72-54, on Dec. 5, 1950.

Rider, located in Lawrenceville, N.J., is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (“MAAC”), whose other schools include Siena, Iona, Niagara and Canisius.

In 2019-20, the Broncs finished 18-12 overall, including a 12-8 mark in league competition, good for third place in the MAAC. From a stanza ago, Rider returns just four guys on a roster that possesses 12 newcomers.

For the upcoming campaign, the MAAC’s pre-season coaches poll arranges Rider at No. 11, which amounts to last place in the Broncs’ conference.