Syracuse Basketball: No battle of the Boeheims in 2020 really, really stinks

It’s a total bummer that we likely won’t get to see Syracuse basketball play its Central New York neighbor Cornell during the 2020-21 campaign.

Dating back to the early 1900s, Syracuse basketball and fellow Empire State team Cornell have suited up against one another on more than 120 occasions. And their series has taken on a new, familial meaning in recent seasons.

As we all know, Jim Boeheim is the long-time head coach of the Orange, and he’s roamed the sidelines for the ‘Cuse for more than four decades.

One of his sons, Buddy, is a rising junior guard for Syracuse basketball. Jim Boeheim’s oldest son, Jimmy, is a rising senior forward with Cornell.

Because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Cornell’s conference, the Ivy League, recently announced that it would cancel all fall sports and delay the beginning of its winter-sports term until Jan. 1 of next year.

Since Syracuse basketball is typically competing in Atlantic Coast Conference clashes by the time that the calendar year flips, it’s virtually a guarantee that the Orange and the Big Red won’t go toe to toe during the 2020-21 stanza.

This also means that Jimmy Boeheim wouldn’t get to face off for the fourth time against his father, as well as for the third instance versus his younger brother, Buddy.

Regardless of the fact that the ‘Cuse has dominated Cornell to the tune of 40-consecutive conquests, Boeheim & Boeheim against Boeheim has proven a special treat.

In 2019, from the Carrier Dome, the Big Red kept things close for a while in its meeting with Syracuse basketball, but a second-half spurt enabled the Orange to pull away, 72-53.

Jimmy Boeheim, by the way, notched an affair-high 25 points. Buddy Boeheim might have struggled a tad from the field, but he still managed to collect 16 points.

After last year’s victory, Buddy Boeheim said in part about his older brother: “He helped me get here, so just being out there and sharing that experience with him was great.”

Every Syracuse basketball fanatic out there, myself included, has reveled in this battle of the Boeheims. I’m saddened that it’s apparently over, but what beautiful memories this event has provided.