Syracuse Orange men’s basketball will play against the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2026 ACC/SEC Challenge, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. The game will be played on Tuesday, December 1, at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. An official announcement is expected soon.
The Sooners finished 21-16 in Porter Moser’s fifth season at the helm in 2025-26, losing in the championship game of the College Basketball Crown to West Virginia. They finished 41st in KenPom, marking the third consecutive season ranking between 40 and 46. Moser has made one NCAA Tournament in his time in Norman.
He will return two double-digit scorers in point guard Xzayvier Brown (15.4 ppg) and wing Derrion Reid (11.7 ppg). Oklahoma has also added Texas A&M transfer Pop Isaacs (9.8 ppg), Louisville transfer Khani Rooths (5.3 ppg), and former NBA G League big man Akoldah Gak this offseason.
SU has never played against the Sooners in Norman. The programs have met four times, with the two most recent instances coming in the NCAA Tournament, with a future Hall of Famer leading their teams to wins in each game. The Orange defeated Oklahoma in the 2003 Elite Eight, led by Carmelo Anthony. Current Syracuse head coach Gerry McNamara scored nine points and had five steals in 39 minutes in that game.
Six years later, Blake Griffin (who hasn’t been inducted to the HOF yet but I believe he eventually will) led the Sooners to a win over Syracuse in the Sweet 16. Current Syracuse assistant coach Arinze Onuaku had seven points and six rebounds in that game. The other two meetings came in Syracuse in 1948 (win) and 1984 (loss).
In the first three years of the ACC/SEC Challenge, the Orange are 2-1. Syracuse defeated LSU at home in 2023, then lost to No. 1 Tennessee on the road in 2024. SU defeated No. 13 Tennessee at home in 2025. The last time Syracuse won a road game against an SEC opponent was November 30, 2012, when it defeated Arkansas 91-82.
Oklahoma assistant coach Justin Scott coached Syracuse assistant Ryan Daly at Saint Joseph’s in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Other notable matchups in the ACC/SEC Challenge include Texas at Louisville, Duke at Florida, Arkansas at North Carolina, Kentucky at Virginia, and Alabama at Miami (FL).
Syracuse non-conference schedule currently looks like this:
- November 9: Indiana (Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)
- December 1: at Oklahoma (ACC/SEC Challenge)
- December 19: Providence (TD Garden, Boston)
- Date TBD: vs UAlbany
- Date TBD: at St. John’s (Madison Square Garden)
- Date TBD: Rutgers (Barclays Center)
- Exhibition Game, October 24: Niagara (KeyBank Center, Buffalo)
- Exhibition Game, Date TBD: Siena (MVP Arena)
Sources told Nunes Magician that the series’ with Colgate and Cornell are likely to resume, and also that they’re not the only New York mid-major programs that will be visiting the Dome next year. Syracuse’s ACC opponents were also released last week, with an enticing home slate that includes Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, and Louisville.
