The men’s basketball team will take on Syracuse for the first time in almost 20 years in the Carrier Dome on Dec. 10.

The officially announcement comes after previous reports that the Orange would be a potential opponent for the Colonials in the upcoming season.

The Colonials and the Orange last faced off in the 1994 Preseason NIT, where GW walked away with an overtime victory. Syracuse leads the all-time series against GW 7-1.

The game takes on added meaning with the addition of Maurice Joseph to the GW staff as the assistant director of basketball operations. Joseph’s younger brother, Kris Joseph, is a standout forward for Syracuse.

Syracuse finished the 2010-11 season with a 27-8 overall record, ultimately falling in the semifinals of the 2011 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament to Connecticut, the program that would go on to win both the 2011 Big East tournament and the 2011 NCAA tournament. The Orange earned an at-large bid to the 2011 Men’s Basketball Division I Tournament, defeating Indiana State in the second round before falling in an upset loss to Marquette in the third round.

GW will take the court under new head coach Mike Lonergan this season, coming off their best season in the past four years after former head coach Karl Hobbs led GW to a 17-14 overall record and a 10-6 mark in Atlantic 10 play, good enough to tie for fourth place in the final conference standings. GW lost in the first round of the conference tournament to 12th seeded Saint Joseph’s, the second time in two years that the program qualified for the league tournament before falling in the first round.