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Every so often, news items slip under the radar a bit at TNIAAM HQ (blame the time difference). Monday afternoon was one of those times.
According to a report by CBS Sports/Fan Rag’s Jon Rothstein, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team will host the Iona Gaels on November 14.
Syracuse will host Iona at November 14th at the Carrier Dome as part of its 2017-18 non-conference schedule, per a source.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 26, 2017
The game against the Iona Gaels would make it 12 dates in place now for Syracuse for 2017-18 (before the ACC games, of course). So yeah, one more and we’re done. Also, Colgate’s not on the schedule, so that’s the final team in all likelihood.
While Iona’s a New York school, and the Orange typically play those quite a bit, the Gaels are not a cupcake by any means. They’ve made four of the last six NCAA Tournaments out of the MAAC, including the most recent two. Coach Tim Cluess has won has won at least 20 games each year he’s been in New Rochelle (since 2010-11).
In four all-time meetings, the Gaels have never beaten Syracuse, but they’ve come reasonably close. The Orange are 4-0 in these meetings, including an 83-77 win in 2010. These teams have also met once in the NCAA Tournament -- a 63-61 victory for SU in 1998.
As mentioned, that’s 12 games out of 13 now scheduled for the non-conference slate. A review of everything we know:
- November 10: vs. Cornell Big Red
- November 14: vs. Iona Gaels
- November 17/18: vs. Texas Southern Tigers
- November 20: vs. Oakland Golden Grizzlies
- November 22: vs. Toledo Rockets
- November 27: vs. Maryland Terrapins (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
- December 2: vs. Kansas Jayhawks (Hoophall Miami Invitational)
- December 5: vs. Connecticut Huskies (Jimmy V Classic at MSG)
- December 16: at Georgetown Hoyas
- December 19: vs. Buffalo Bulls
- December 22: vs. St. Bonaventure Bonnies
- December 27: vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles
If I’m taking guesses on the Colgate game, it’s probably happening between UConn and Georgetown (currently an 11-day gap). Expect that announcement soon, since the ACC will probably want to announce full basketball schedules by the end of July or so.
Also, a Gael is someone that speaks Gaelic. Not very creative, but our mascot’s a color, so... we’ll just leave it alone.