Syracuse women's and men's basketball both play fellow New York state teams on Sunday night. SU women's hoops is home against Canisius, while Syracuse men's basketball will travel to the Big Apple to duel with No. 13 St. John's.
Let's start with Syracuse women's basketball. The 'Cuse (3-0 overall) has looked great to date in the 2026-27 campaign on defense. Most recently, the Orange knocked off Siena, 82-58, at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Up next for SU is Canisius (2-1 overall), which is located in Buffalo, N.Y., and competes in the Metro Conference. The squads are scheduled to tip off at 7 pm EST, with the ACC Network providing television coverage.
According to Syracuse Athletics, the Orange leads the all-time series with the Golden Griffins, 12-2. SU has also won its last three games against Canisius. Most recently, at home, Syracuse beat the Golden Griffins, 96-72, in November 2025.
Sophomore center and All-American candidate Uche Izoje, last season's Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year, is pacing the 'Cuse so far in 2026-27. She's averaging 20.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while making 52.9 percent from the field.
Syracuse men's basketball has its toughest game of the season on Sunday evening.
SU men's hoops (2-1 overall) is coming off a thrilling non-conference contest last Monday evening against Indiana in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers ultimately prevailed, 83-80, but the Orange showed it can compete with a quality high-major program.
The Red Storm (3-0 overall), under legendary head coach and former Syracuse basketball assistant Rick Pitino, presents an even bigger challenge for first-year head coach Gerry McNamara and SU. The teams will square off at 7:00 pm EST at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with live-streaming coverage on Peacock.
St. John's and UConn, in recent campaigns, have been the best two teams in the Big East Conference. Last season, the Red Storm went 30-7 overall and reached the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse basketball is 52-43 against St. John's in their all-time series together, which dates back to 1901. The Red Storm has claimed four in a row against SU. Most recently, St. John's beat the Orange, 76-69, in overtime at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November 2022.
The Red Storm's 2026-27 roster includes multiple familiar faces. Junior power forward Donnie Freeman, who hails from Washington, D.C., spent the past two seasons with the 'Cuse before transferring to St. John's. Unfortunately, Freeman is out for the entire 2026-27 campaign due to an injury.
Junior guard Ian Jackson is a former Syracuse basketball recruiting target who previously played at North Carolina. Jackson is one of the Red Storm's top guys this season, averaging 16.3 points in just 20.7 minutes per game.
Graduate student guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. is a former Orange player. Prior to St. John's, he competed for Kansas, Syracuse and Mercer.
Freshman center Theo Edema is a former 'Cuse recruit. Edema took an official visit to Syracuse basketball and ultimately moved from the 2027 cycle into the 2026 class, where he was a four-star center out of the Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass.
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