Syracuse basketball to have more non-conference games this season, but not Georgetown

Neil Adler

Syracuse basketball and Georgetown won't play each other in the upcoming season, per a report. That's a huge bummer. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Syracuse basketball will have two more non-conference encounters in the 2025-26 season, but one of its most storied rivals won't be on the Orange's docket.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports first reported on Wednesday that Big East Conference member Georgetown and the 'Cuse aren't expected to battle one another in the upcoming stanza.

That stinks.

For the past 10 seasons, now as non-conference foes, Syracuse basketball and the Hoyas have squared off with each other. The Orange departed the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013-14, and for two years in a row, the 'Cuse and Georgetown didn't meet.

However, since that time, over the course of a decade, they've played every year, splitting the 10 games. In December of 2024, the Hoyas knocked off the 'Cuse at the JMA Wireless Dome, 75-71.

Syracuse basketball and Georgetown won't go toe to toe in 2025-26.

Last December's affair was the 100th match-up between them, with Syracuse basketball holding an all-time edge of 54-46. After that setback for the 'Cuse, Orange head coach Adrian Autry and Hoyas boss Ed Cooley both said that they hoped the series would continue. I'm with them.

Of course, just because they're not suiting up versus one another in 2025-26 doesn't mean they'll never play again. We'll have to wait and see.

Earlier this month, the ACC announced that its men's basketball teams would play an 18-game league schedule in 2025-26 after conducting a 20-contest conference slate dating back to 2019-20. That means the Orange, in the upcoming term, will move to 13 non-conference affairs, as opposed to 11.

ACC officials say the reasoning for this is to enable league members, including the 'Cuse, to schedule more marquee non-conference games, hoping that this will provide a boost to ACC schools' resumes for consideration of the annual NCAA Tournament.

I'd imagine that SU Athletics will soon unveil Syracuse basketball's non-conference calendar for 2025-26. This coming season, the 'Cuse will suit up in the NIL-driven Players Era Festival, which wil take place in late November in Las Vegas.

I assume that the Orange will participate in the annual SEC/ACC Challenge. Other non-conference games for Syracuse basketball in 2025-26 haven't been publicly disclosed.

One thing about the Georgetown news. I'm an old-school Big East guy. I've been following the 'Cuse and the Hoyas since the 1980s. I went to Syracuse University from 1996 to 2000. I've always despised that the Orange bolted for the ACC, but I get why my alma mater did.

I hope that this storied rivalry, which isn't what it once was but is still special to me, does transpire again in the future.

Neil Adler

Since 2016, Neil has served as a writer with Inside The Loud House, while also taking on the role of editor in 2020. Neil, a graduate of Syracuse University in 2000, primarily covers 'Cuse basketball, football, recruiting, NIL and conference realignment issues. Neil has been an avid Syracuse sports enthusiast dating back to the 1980s. While with Loud House, Neil is regularly heard on the radio in Central New York, while also participating in numerous podcasts related to the 'Cuse. His exclusive reports are often picked up by other media outlets, too. When not writing about Syracuse sports, Neil also co-owns a marketing agency in the Washington, D.C., market. He loves playing hoops and buying basketball cards with his son, spending time with his parents, brother and nephews, and listening to Duran Duran.