The Syracuse men's basketball team has added another preseason game to its schedule for the 2026-2027 season. The Orange will travel more 120 miles west towards Buffalo to take on Niagara prior to the official start of the Gerry McNamara era.

Although the Purple Eagles play their home games at the Gallagher Center, this matchup is tentatively scheduled to played at the KeyBank Center. The KeyBank Center is the home to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and NLL's Buffalo Bandits. Tip-off between Syracuse and Niagara is set for October 24. 

Last season, Syracuse played Buffalo in one of two preseason contests.

The Purple Eagles are coached by Central New York native Greg Paulus. A Christian Brothers Academy high school graduate, Paulus was a two-sport star during his high school career. In his senior season of 2004, Paulus helped lead CBA to a state football championship.

Paulus was highly recruited as a quarterback prospect, but instead of following a path to the gridiron, Paulus decided to play basketball at Duke. Paulus was a four-year contributor for the Blue Devils, but returned to Central New York in 2009. The graduate transfer did not play basketball for then-coach Jim Boeheim but instead returned to the football field for the first time in five years. 

Paulus won four games and threw for 13 touchdowns in his lone season quarterbacking the Orange. 

The 39-year old Paulus has served as Niagara's head coach since 2019. The Purple Eagles compete in the MAAC and have just one winning season in Paulus's tenure. The 2025-2026 Niagara squad finished with an 8-22 record overall. 

Although the October matchup will not count on either team's regular season record, there is a history between the two schools. The most recent matchup was in December of 2023 when Syracuse defeated Niagara 83-71. The Orange own the overall series lead with a 56-28 record. The Purple Eagles' most recent victory came in the 1975-1976 season with a 59-57 win. 

The preseason matchup with Niagara adds to the list of recent updates on Syracuse's 2026-2027 schedule so far.  

 We already knew that SU will take on Providence College at TD Garden in Boston. The date and time of that game is still to be determined. Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Syracuse will play Indiana in a non-conference game on November 9 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.  

These games are seemingly replacing the Players Era Festival on the schedule. It was announced in April that the school would not return to the tournament again this fall. 

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