Syracuse basketball first-year head coach Gerry McNamara and his program look to bounce back from a 20-point exhibition loss to UConn earlier this week when the Orange heads to Albany, N.Y., this Sunday afternoon for an exhibition against McNamara's former team, Siena out of the Metro Conference.
It will surely be an emotional affair for McNamara, several of his assistants and three former Siena players who transferred to the 'Cuse this offseason. McNamara spent the past two campaigns turning around the Saints, and in the 2025-26 season, that included a 23-12 overall record, a postseason conference tournament title and a trip to the Big Dance.
As we all know by now, Siena, as a No. 16 seed, nearly stunned top-seeded Duke in the 2026 NCAA Tournament's first round. Siena's new head coach is former Marquette assistant Nevada Smith.
Sunday will be Siena's first and only exhibition, while Syracuse basketball will play three exhibitions. After the Siena contest, the Orange will travel to the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., to play another Empire State team, Niagara, on Saturday, Oct. 24, beginning at 3:00 pm EST.
The 'Cuse and the Saints are scheduled to tip off at 2:00 pm EST on Sunday, Oct. 18, at the MVP Arena in Albany. ESPN+ will provide live-streaming coverage. In their all-time series together during official games, the Orange is 8-0 against Siena.
Injury updates for Syracuse basketball ahead of Sunday afternoon's exhibition against Siena.
In the 'Cuse setback to the Huskies this past Tuesday night, junior guard Aiden Tobiason, a transfer from Temple who was in the starting lineup for that game, appeared to suffer an upper right-leg injury about two minutes into the exhibition and didn't return.
A Syracuse basketball spokesperson told Inside the Loud House on Friday that Tobiason's status is "day-to-day." So we'll have to see if the 6-foot-6, 210-pound Tobiason will be able to go against Siena or, later this month, against Niagara before the Orange opens 2026-27 regular-season competition against non-conference foe New Haven at the JMA Wireless Dome on Monday, Nov. 2, beginning at 7:00 pm EST.
Mark Morano, the four-star freshman wing from Slovenia, didn't play against Connecticut. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Morano, however, was a full go at practice on Thursday, per the Syracuse basketball spokesperson. It sounds like Morano should be available on Sunday against Siena.
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