The Syracuse Orange have played 2,716 varsity basketball
games since its first game in 1900.
Approximately 1/3 of those games (982) have been against 10 schools. Conference realignments and
emphasis on programs (or de-emphasis) leads to a change on who the Orange play.
Syracuse is scheduled to play five schools in its top ten
list this year. The Orange have already
played Colgate and Cornell, the two teams at the top of the all-time list. Syracuse has played Colgate 166 times, by far
the most, and Cornell comes in second with 119 games.
They will face Pittsburgh later this season; the Panthers
are currently #4 on the list with 102 games, and will jump to #3 sometime next
season. #3 is may come to s surprise for
some fans, especially younger ones: Penn
State Nittany Lions. Syracuse has played the Nittany Lions 105 times, with the
Orange winning 62 of those games. The two schools have not met since January 25th,
1982, almost 32 years ago. Part of that
was due to logistics; but a bigger factor, I believe, was bitterness between
the two schools over the Big East Conference.
Syracuse (along with others) did not agree with Penn State on what the conference
should be and that led to Penn States exclusion from the conference. The fact that Penn State basketball has not
been competitive for quite some time has helped make it an easier decision (only 4 NCAA
bids since 1965).
Connecticut is fifth on the list with 91 games; I am unaware
of whether the Orange will try to continue this series or not. Georgetown is sixth with 90 games. Both
Syracuse and the Hoyas have discussed continuing the series, but nothing was
scheduled for this season.
St. John’s is seventh on the list with 88 games, and
Syracuse played the Red Storm earlier this season at Madison Square Garden. I
would imagine that Syracuse will keep this series alive as long as St. John’s
is willing, as it gives the Orange access to MSG on a routine basis, something
the fans, players and recruits all like.
Niagara is 8th on the list with 81 games. The Orange used to play Niagara very
regularly, but stopped that routine in 1982, which does coincide with the
growth of the Big East. The two teams
have met once since then, with an Orange 95-69 win on December 30th,
2000 at Niagara.
Villanova is #9 on this list with 70 games. The Orange lead
that always competitive series 38-32, and the two teams will be playing a high
profile game later week with Syracuse ranked #2 and the Wildcats ranked #8.
Canisius is #10 on the list with 70 games. Syracuse still plays Canisius; the last game
was December 15, 2012 (last season) with the Orange winning 85-61.
Rounding out the top 20 would be University of Rochester,
Seton Hall, Boston College, Providence, West Virginia, Rutgers, Penn, Notre Dame,
Fordham and Princeton. Rochester may
surprise many; Syracuse has played 64 games against Rochester, but the last
game was way back in 1975. Rochester is now a Division III school, and unlikely
to appear on the Orange’s schedule.
Fordham reappeared on the Orange schedule this year, in a game the
Orange won earlier this season.