Top Ten Games Of The Syracuse Basketball Season: Number One

Mar 15, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Syracuse fans Denis Hickey (left) and John Groat cheer before the start of a semifinal game of the Big East tournament against the Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

To celebrate Syracuse’s great basketball season, InsideTheLoudHouse has been counting down the top ten games of the basketball season. Here is number one!

Number One: Syracuse Beats Georgetown In Final Big East Meeting (3/15/2013)

I don’t think there is even a debate that this was the most memorable game of the 2013 season.

Mar 15, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange forward C.J. Fair (5) dunks over Georgetown Hoyas forward Otto Porter (22) during overtime of a semifinal game of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. Syracuse won 58-55 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse and Georgetown went toe to toe for one final time as Big East rivals in the Big East Tournament. Georgetown beat the Orange by 11 in the Carrier Dome, then absolutely blew the doors off Syracuse in the Verizon Center in the teams’ two regular season meetings. This was a game that Orange fans wanted badly, and I would argue that it was the most important game of the season for fans at that point in the season.

Syracuse jumped out to a hot start, and claimed a nine point lead heading in to halftime. Georgetown didn’t quit however, fighting their way back in it before tying the game and sending it to overtime. Brandon Triche scored a quick go-ahead basket, and the Orange had the lead for good. There were a lot of memorable moments in this game. Baye Keita’s clutch free throw shooting. James Southerland’s three balls. Brandon Triche’s aggression driving the ball and drawing contact. But what was the best highlight of the game? When this happened.

This game will forever be etched in both Syracuse and Georgetown’s history books, because it was the final time the two teams played as regular season opponents. Fair or not (no pun intended) for a Hoya team that dominated the regular season series this year against the Orange, fans will undoubtedly remember the final meeting between the two rivals on the biggest stage over the regular season. Aside from the two teams meeting in the NCAA Tournament, the Big East Tournament is as big as it gets for this rivalry, and the Orange prevailed in a memorable game that will never be forgotten.

Until the Hoyas and Orange meet again in March, any games between the two schools will not be anywhere close to as important as this game was. A non-conference series with the Hoyas would be nice (The Orange are 14-7 against the Hoyas since 2003), but I think it goes without saying that the importance of a win in that type of situation is nowhere near as important as the final Big East meeting between the two rivals.

Here is the Syracuse box score from the game, courtesy of ESPN: