SU Athletics announced on Thursday afternoon that both Syracuse men's and women's basketball will square off against Big East Conference powerhouse UConn in October as part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Exhibition Event at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
The women's game is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 12, while the men's contest will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 13, according to a release from Syracuse Athletics. CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported earlier this week that Syracuse men's basketball and the Huskies were finalizing an agreement for this exhibition.
While we'll have to see how SU women's and men's basketball fare on the court in these exhibitions against two elite teams, this news is exciting, because UConn is a huge brand in college basketball, both on the women's and men's sides.
'Cuse vs. UConn x2! 🍊🏀
— Syracuse Athletics (@Cuse) June 25, 2026
The Orange and Huskies will meet in a @Hoophall exhibition event at @MoheganSun
📰 https://t.co/UTl6O14Wm0 pic.twitter.com/hFYNNERm67
Syracuse men's basketball first-year head coach Gerry McNamara has said he'd like to play the Huskies regularly moving forward, although SU women's hoops head coach Felisha Legette-Jack wasn't all that pleased when her program, yet again, had to square off with UConn this past March in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Still, Syracuse playing former Big East Conference rival UConn is good for college basketball.
The Huskies were fabulous in the 2025-26 season. On the men's side, UConn, led by two-time national championship-winning head coach Dan Hurley, went 34-6 overall and advanced to the title game of the 2026 Big Dance. Hurley led the Huskies to recent national titles in 2023 and 2024.
On the women's side, the Huskies were 38-1 overall and reached the Final Four of this past spring's NCAA Tournament. Geno Auriemma, the legendary head coach, has guided UConn to a ridiculous 12 national championships.
In their all-time series together, Syracuse men's basketball is 53-37 against the Huskies, and that includes their famous six-overtime game in the 2009 Big East Tournament, which SU won, 127-117. The team haven't played since 2018.
On the women's side, per SU Athletics, the Orange is 12-35 against UConn. In the 2026 NCAA Tournament's second round, the top-seeded Huskies blasted No. 9 seed Syracuse, 98-45. The squads also met in the national championship game of the 2016 Big Dance, with UConn prevailing.
Legette-Jack said in Thursday's press release: "This is a great opportunity for the young women in our program to showcase their talent and hard work early in the season for an exhibition between two programs that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season."
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