Report: Syracuse vs. South Carolina Next December in Barclays Center

Another bit of information that might have slipped passed the radar on Saturday while you were crying about the Syracuse - Florida State game was this nugget by Mr. This Is March himself.

Syracuse will play South Carolina @barclayscenter in December 2016, sources told @CBSSports. Official date and time is TBD.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 31, 2015

No surprise to hear that the Syracuse Orange are trying to schedule games in New York City on an annual basis. When we're not playing St. John's in Madison Square Garden (they'll be in the Dome next year) we've got to fill that space somehow. While the idea of Syracuse vs. Duke or UNC might sound good to the layperson, there's no way in hell the Carrier Dome should ever miss out on one of those games. It makes much more sense to schedule a team like the South Carolina Gamecocks, who probably jumped at the chance to play in NYC.

Also, thank goodness for Barclays. The Red Storm have almost certainly blocked the Orange from scheduling non-tournament games in MSG, so having a more-than-willing Barclays to host is perfect. SU will be back in Barclays later that season as well for the ACC Tournament.

South Carolina is coming off of a 17–16 (6–12) season and has a pretty young team this season that we'll see most of next year. SU is 3-1 all-time versus the Gamecocks with the last game being a 2002 NIT Final Four loss.