ACC releases full men’s basketball schedule

The Atlantic Coast Conference likes to be fashionably late to the schedule release party. So with practices starting up in the coming weeks, the ACC decided it would grace its teams with an actual schedule. And, with most divas, the wait was well worth it.

For the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team, ACC play begins with a road trip to Notre Dame on Saturday, Jan. 5, with that being the only scheduled match-up with the Irish this season. The first Dome conference game comes four days later (Jan. 9) when Clemson comes in.

The Orange, as we knew, will face Duke twice this season (the way God intended). The first game will be in Durham for a Big Monday tilt on Jan. 14. The return date will be Saturday, Feb. 23—a likely ESPN Gameday destination if there ever was one.

The other home-and-home conference contests are with Boston College (@BC Jan. 30; home Feb. 9) and the Pittsburgh Panthers, and new coach Jeff Capel (home Jan. 19; @Pitt Feb. 2).

Syracuse wraps the season with two potentially crucial games: a Big Monday home game with Virginia and then a season finale on CBS at Clemson on March 9.

Another note-worthy feature of this year’s ACC slate is that the Orange will have to only play the dreaded back-to-back Saturday and Monday games twice this season. Of course, the first Sat-Monday set features a home game with Georgia Tech, followed by the Big Monday at Duke. But for all of the questionable scheduling over the years, the gauntlet that is the ACC schedule looks a little more doable than most years.

Below is the entire slate, including the non-conference match-ups. The season is now officially less than two months away and, now that the schedules are finally set, seems closer than ever to being reality.

Nov. 6 (Tues.): Eastern Washington Eagles

Nov. 10 (Sat.): Morehead State Eagles

Nov. 15 (Thurs.): UConn Huskies (at MSG)

Nov. 16 (Fri.): Iowa Hawkeyes/Oregon Ducks (at MSG)

Nov. 21 (Wed.): Colgate Raiders

Nov. 28 (Wed.): Ohio State Buckeyes

Dec. 1 (Sat.): Cornell Big Red

Dec. 4 (Tues.): Northeastern Huskies

Dec. 8 (Sat.): Georgetown Hoyas

Dec. 15 (Sat.): Old Dominion Monarchs

Dec. 18 (Tues.): Buffalo Bulls

Dec. 22 (Sat.): Arkansas State Red Wolves

Dec. 29 (Sat.): St. Bonaventure Bonnies

Jan. 5 (Sat.): at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Jan. 9 (Wed.): Clemson Tigers

Jan. 12 (Sat.): Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Jan. 14 (Mon): at Duke Blue Devils

Jan. 19 (Sat.): Pittsburgh Panthers

Jan. 24 (Thurs): Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Jan. 26 (Sat.): at Virginia Tech Hokies

Jan. 30 (Wed): at Boston College Eagles

Feb. 2 (Sat.): at Pittsburgh Panthers

Feb. 9 (Sat.): Boston College Eagles

Feb. 5 (Tues.): Florida State Seminoles

Feb. 13 (Wed.): at N.C. State Wolfpack

Feb. 20 (Wed.): Louisville Cardinals

Feb. 23 (Sat.): Duke Blue Devils

Feb. 26 (Tues.): at North Carolina Tar Heels

March 2 (Sat.): at Wake Forest Demon Deacons

March 4 (Mon.): Virginia Cavaliers

March 9 (Sat.): at Clemson Tigers