Syracuse men’s basketball: Orange will face St. John’s in MSG

The Syracuse Orange will be back in Madison Square Garden in November to take on Rick Pitino’s St. John’s squad. According to Jon Rothstein, the game will be played on Sunday November 15th.

Further reporting from Adam Zagoria indicates the game will tip at 6:00 pm which sets up an interesting opportunity for Syracuse/Bills fans as Josh Allen and crew will play at the Jets at 1:00 on the 15th. Anyone planning to make the double-header a reality?

The Orange won’t see former player Donnie Freeman who is out for the year with injury, but they will see Kyle Cuffe who will use his final year at St. John’s. Pitino’s big transfer addition was Baylor wing Tonde Yessoufou withdrew from the NBA Draft to join St. John’s.

It’s expected that Pitino’s team will open the season ranked in the top 20, so this sets up as another early test for Gerry McNamara’s revamped roster. Syracuse fans will be excited about Syracuse being back in the World’s Most Famous Arena to face an old Big East rival.

Here’s what the Orange’s non-conference and exhibition schedule looks like:

• Exhibition Game, October 13: UConn (Mohegan Sun, Uncasville)
• Exhibition Game, October 24: Niagara (KeyBank Center, Buffalo)
• Exhibition Game, Date TBD: Siena (MVP Arena)* not finalized, but reported to be in talks as of May
• November 2: New Haven (JMA Wireless Dome)
• November 5: Central Connecticut (JMA Wireless Dome)
• November 9: Indiana (Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)
• November 15 : at St. John’s (Madison Square Garden)
• November 18: Cornell (JMA Wireless Dome)
• November 21: Lafayette (JMA Wireless Dome)
• November 25: vs UAlbany (JMA Wireless Dome)
• December 1: at Oklahoma (ACC/SEC Challenge)
• December 8: Colgate (JMA Wireless Dome)
• December 16: Canisius (JMA Wireless Dome)
• December 19: Providence (TD Garden, Boston)
• December 22: Binghamton (JMA Wireless Dome)
• February 6: Rutgers (Barclays Center)