Earlier this offseason, new Syracuse men's basketball coach Gerry McNamara said that he wanted the Orange to re-strike up its rivalry with the University of Connecticut.

"We want to be on that stage. I want to play against the best teams and coach against the best coaches. Rick Pitino is elite. Danny Hurley is elite. I want to be among the elite. The way you do that is you continue to challenge your program and put yourself on that stage."

Well, on Tuesday, we learned that he's going to get his wish - kind of.

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Syracuse is set to play UConn on Oct. 13 in an exhibition contest at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

UConn, who is coming off a trip to the national title game last season, will represent a significant challenge for the Orange, especially in the infancy of McNamara's tenure as head coach. However, the Huskies might go through some growing pains themselves in the preseason, with Solo Ball out for the season with injury and Tarris Reed and Alex Karaban lost to graduation.

The two longtime Big East rivals have met 90 times since 1956, with the Orange holding a 53-37 advantage over the Huskies. They haven't played since 2018 when UConn won 83-76.

The answer is two-fold.

1) McNamara was hired in late March, and by that point, non-conference schedules are close to done. While a handful of matchups do get announced in late spring and early summer, it isn't many. It was always more likely that a matchup between the two programs would be easier to pull off in the future.

2) The reality is this: At this point, Syracuse isn't good enough for UConn to play in the regular season. UConn has assembled, maybe, the hardest non-conference schedule in history. And they are doing that for one goal: To better their ability to win the national title. Syracuse hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament in five straight years. They aren't on UConn's level right now and don't help them accomplish their goals.

--Syracuse fans are in shock after seeing the latest picture of rising sophomore Kiyan Anthony. Not only does Anthony look to be much thicker than last season, but he looks like a spitting image of his father, Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony.

--The NBA Draft begins on Tuesday night with the first round. The Orange will not have anyone selected in the first round, though there's a chance that William Kyle III could sneak into the second round or get signed to a summer league roster.

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