Sure, Syracuse is scheduling lots of quality programs for the 2011-2012 basketball season. That's all well and good. But, as long as they're going to do so within the confines of the Syracuse City-State, its just never going to be good enough for the likes of Katz, Gottlieb and the rest of a certain sports network's experts.
We already knew Syracuse would play in the 2011 NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden. While we're waiting for some kind of officially-official announcement, it sounds like we're going to open things up against Stanford. The Cardinal went 15-16 last year, but at least bring a notable name to our second home. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Meanwhile, our old friends the Florida Gators will head to the Dome Dec. 2 in what could be a match-up of top ten programs, if preseason predictions hold. The Gators went 29-8 last year and advanced to the Elite 8 (Mike Waters has a team breakdown). SU is 3-1 all-time against Florida.
Lets just hope everybody keeps their bodily functions in check this time around.
And so, two quality names on the schedule so far in two locations Syracuse will receive no credit for winning the games (MSG, Carrier Dome). Start your "Syracuse will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until..." engines NOW.