According to a report from the Albany Times Union's Mark Singelais, the Syracuse men's basketball team is working on an exhibition contest with Siena University ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The fact that Syracuse might play Siena is not necessarily surprising, as the two are separated by just 2.5 hours. What's surprising is that the game would reportedly take place in Albany and not at Syracuse.

Per Singelais:

Siena AD John D'Argenio confirms by text the Saints are in talks with Syracuse to play an exhibition game at MVP Arena in mid-October. The 2026 MAAC banner ceremony would take place at that game with Gerry McNamara, Gavin Doty, Francis Folefac and Tasman Goodrick on hand.

There's a few things at play, so let's start with Singelais's point up top.

Given that head coach Gerry McNamara has moved from Siena to Syracuse - and brought three players with him - it makes sense that Siena would want to have this game at home so they can properly honor the core of the team that won the MAAC Championship in 2025-26. There will be no other chances for Siena to do this in a meaningful way in which these players - and McNamara - can be a part of it.

To another point: As was noted by Syracuse.com on Tuesday, it is actually a financial disadvantage for the Orange to hold exhibition games at the JMA Wireless Dome. Low attendance and high cost leads to a financial deficit.

Can Syracuse afford to cover that for 1-2 exhibition games a year? Of course they can. Why do they not want to? That's up to speculation.

The clear hope is that all savings are being used to help further fund the athletic department or NIL opportunities. It might sound like "penny pinching," but in a world where athletic departments around the country are cutting sports, every dollar counts.

Frankly? It could be a distraction. While McNamara and the former Siena players would surely like to see the banner go up in the rafters at MVP Arena, does McNarama really want to do deal with the sideshow of the whole thing as he's trying to rebuild the Syracuse program?

Of course, everyone will say the proper things publicly and be appreciative of the chance, but you can't help but wonder if McNamara would just like to have his team focused on the task of getting better, rather than having to re-live the past in the build-up to the contest.

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