Syracuse, N.Y. — UConn. St. John’s. Maybe Villanova.

Syracuse men’s basketball fans still steeped in the frenzied old Big East have long clamored for rekindling some of those nostalgic rivalries in the non-conference schedule.

Next season, there might be a better window to schedule those former Big East rivals.

SU will play 14 non-conference games in 2026-27, one more than this season after the NCAA voted to increase the total amount of games from 31 to 32. For Syracuse, that means 18 ACC games and 14 non-ACC games.

Since 2006-07, teams have been allowed to play 28 or 29 regular-season games and a two- or three-game MTE (multi-team event) for a total of no more than 31 games. The MTE is no longer required to reach the max number of non-conference games.

SU assistant coach Peter Corasaniti, who for years has constructed the Orange non-conference schedule, said staff and administrators will sit down at some point and address what works best for SU going forward.

Will it be better for Syracuse to schedule a couple neutral-site games? Is a tournament still a viable, financially sane option? Should SU try to schedule home-and-home games against marquee opponents? How important will it be to get games in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., traditional recruiting areas that also brim with alumni?

And can SU ever hope to get back to Madison Square Garden, still the epicenter of Big East hoops?

SU coaches, Corasaniti said, are keen to schedule some familiar names.

“Now I’ve got 14 open spots and I don’t need to play in a tournament,” Corasaniti said. “I need to go get five Quad 1 games a year. So yes, the opportunities are now there for us to be creative and rekindle some of those games.”

Talks about next year’s schedule are at this point preliminary. A philosophy needs to be determined on how to best tackle the 14-game schedule.

Ultimately, Corasaniti said, SU’s non-con schedule depends on finances, playing regional games and the availability of the JMA Wireless Dome.

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