Syracuse Orange men’s basketball season tickets have been on sale for some time, and individual tickets have begun rolling out in the last week.
If you’re still on the fence about making a full season commitment, SU has also presented some partial season ticket plans. Fans can now choose from separate six- and nine-game (heh.) packages if they’d like to bundle a few selections.
For the six-game partial plan, here are your choices:
One of the following: North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia
Pick: North Carolina
The answer’s pretty clear here. Despite the obvious talent gap between Syracuse and the Tar Heels, it’s always fun to play against UNC and they’re the best opponent to visit the Dome this year by a long shot. Sorry, Virginia.
Two of the following: Clemson, Maryland, Wake Forest
Picks: Maryland, Clemson
Maryland is a top 25 team and despite us never really being rivals, seeing the Terps lose is always a joy. The Clemson/Wake quandary is a toss-up, though I’d gravitate toward the season finale vs. the Tigers. A) Clemson’s trash, and B) Senior Day is always a nice culmination of players’ time at SU.
Two of the following: Boston College, Colgate, Cornell, Eastern Michigan, NC State, Pitt, St. Bonaventure, Virginia Tech
Picks: Pitt, St. Bonaventure
The two most appealing opponents end up being lesser options because of dates. The Virginia Tech game (which would normally be in the tier above) is an evening matchup on New Year’s Eve. NC State is on Valentine’s Day. So you’re avoiding those two in favor of less entertaining, but probably more winnable games. Pitt is going to be hot garbage this year, so might as well pick them. I’ll go with the Bonnies as the other game, if only so you’re not just going to BC and Pitt in consecutive games and being done with it.
One of the following: Buffalo, Iona, Oakland (Mich.), Texas Southern, Toledo
Give me Iona here, but Oakland and Texas Southern have both been solid teams of late. If you have any ties to Buffalo, perhaps the Bulls are your pick instead.
Nine-game plan
If you’d prefer the nine-game plan, you also get a bit more choice in opponents. That option lets you pick ANY nine games. If I’m ranking the options, they probably go as follows:
(see above)
Our sorta rivalry with UVA has started to blossom into something immensely entertaining. Plus, after a rough start, we’re sort of in their heads now. Let’s lean into that.
Sure, this one’s also on national TV, but the Terps are an uncommon opponent and that provides some extra motivation over other teams we see at the Dome every year or two.
A victory over Notre Dame in any sport just provides an extra layer of satisfaction other foes can’t give you. Plus, I still remember that terrible game from my freshman year, when we lost by dozens and fans booed the cheerleaders.
Wake’s a rising program and though they always struggle with us, they did make the NCAAs last year. I just want to beat them again to underline the fact that we’re still the much better outfit.
As mentioned, it’s Senior Day. And who wouldn’t want to watch Clemson fail at something?
Again, Pitt is garbage this year, and that could mean Syracuse exacts all sorts of revenge for previous struggles.
Since joining the ACC, we’ve inexplicably dropped games to very bad Eagles teams. I’d like to avoid that this year, and I’d sign up to watch Syracuse avoid an upset in-person.
The Bonnies believe themselves to be improving, and a win at the Dome would certainly help them on that front. I’d rather just knock our one-time rival down and hurt their at-large chances whether we make the tourney or not.
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Yes, this year’s home slate is garbage. But which opponents would you pick? Share your own six- and nine-game plans below.