And so it begins. The 2012-2013 Syracuse Orange basketball season begins on Friday with a trip to San Diego to take on the San Diego St. Aztecs. Let's get the particulars in order.

Date: Friday, November 9th.

Location: U.S.S. Midway, San Diego, CA

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET (pre-game show starts at 7:00 p.m.)

TV: National - Fox Sports (affiliate map), New York - MSG Plus, New England- NESN, Mid-Atlantic - MASN

Announcers: Dick Enberg, Steve Kerr, Erin Andrew

Radio: Syracuse IMG Network/WAER 88.3/WTKW 99.5 FM/ESPN 97.7 FM/Sirius 112/XM 197

Records: Syracuse (0-0), San Diego State (0-0)

Series: Syracuse, 1-0

Current Streak: Syracuse, 1

SU's Last Win: 2007, Syracuse 80, San Diego St. 64

As predicted, the largest crowd in NIT history (which is a little like breaking the record for most participants in a midget gangbang, sure its nice and you're happy to be a part of history but you'd much rather be with the "normies") watched the Orange beat the Aztecs, a crowd of 26,752. It also happened to be the third biggest on-campus crowd all season. Nice work, Cusians.

Jim Boeheim's Record vs. Steve Fisher: 1-0

Fun Fact: The 2007 meeting did indeed break the NIT record as 26,752 fans flocked to the Carrier Dome. Demetris Nichols led the Orange with 20 points that night.

Unexciting Reason To Watch: It's an outdoor basketball game. You can see one of those at the swim club in your neighborhood.

Exciting Reason To Watch: First game of the season! New camo uniforms! The game is being played on a warship! It's an outdoor game! Jim Boeheim loose in San Diego!

SD State Blog: Mountain West Connection

Tweeterers Worth Following: Jeremy Mauss, GoAztecs.com