Syracuse Basketball: This coming week, Orange is back in the old Big East

When word broke years ago that Syracuse basketball and other Orange sports would move from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference, I had mixed emotions.

I’ve been a huge Orange hoops fan since my days as a student at Syracuse University in the late 1990s, and the Big East was all I ever knew.

But I also understood that the landscape in collegiate athletics was shifting, and that big-time football and lucrative television contracts necessitated a relocation from the Big East to a Power 5 conference, and in the case of the ‘Cuse, this was the ACC.

And as much as I would miss the old Big East, I did look forward to Syracuse basketball, hopefully, forging some fun and fierce rivalries with high-profile programs such as Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Louisville, among others.

Since the Orange joined the ACC for the 2013-14 campaign, the ‘Cuse has slogged its way through conference competition in many stanzas. That’s no secret. The Orange, however, has engaged in some epic league contests, whether against Duke or other ACC foes.

For one week, though, Syracuse basketball is reliving its Big East days.

The upcoming six days, my friends, should prove nostalgic and entertaining. That’s because the Orange will go toe to toe with two of its long-time Big East rivals, Villanova and Georgetown.

Sure, these encounters are now deemed non-conference meetings, but honestly, who cares? The ‘Cuse is playing the Wildcats and the Hoyas in the span of five days, and I’m ecstatic about it. Of course, if Syracuse basketball could go 2-0 or at least 1-1 in these affairs, I’d be even happier.

First up, on Tuesday night, the Orange will square off with Villanova as part of the 2021 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Wildcats are a top-10 team and a Final Four contender, so this is a daunting task for Syracuse basketball.

For me, though, it doesn’t get any better than the ‘Cuse and a former Big East nemesis at the world’s most famous arena, in the Big Apple.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate. On Saturday afternoon, the Orange will travel to our nation’s capital for a date with those hated Hoyas. In all reality, for me personally, I actually don’t despise Georgetown, because D.C. is my hometown city.

When Syracuse basketball invades Washington, there is a sea of Orange in the city. I know this, because I usually attend these games in person. Syracuse basketball fans, more often than not, far outnumber Georgetown fans. It’s awesome.

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, I’ll be watching on TV this go-round, but it’s so, so special to me cheering on my beloved alma mater in D.C., particularly if the ‘Cuse prevails over the Hoyas.

I know that a large contingent of Syracuse basketball fanatics still yearns for the old Big East. I get it. I’ve gotten used to the ACC, even if sometimes I do miss the Orange’s former conference. At least for the next few days, I can pretend that the ‘Cuse is back where it belongs.