Syracuse basketball vs. Georgetown. Saturday, December 14, at 2:30 pm. Live from the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY, on the ACC Network, TK99 radio locally or via the Varsity app. This game is personal.
I’m going to start this by saying that I am 52 years old and grew up on Syracuse basketball as a pinnacle of the Big East. I didn’t like any Big East team other than Cuse but there was one team I hated to lose to and that was the Georgetown Hoyas.
And while I do miss those days, the reality is choices made in the past forced Syracuse (and other Big East teams) to make the move away to the ACC but that doesn't mean that the rivalry has to go with that.
And I led with that because I know younger fans who didn’t experience the Big East days might see things differently. They want to beat up on Duke and Carolina and maybe hate UConn but they didn't grow up with hate in their hearts for the Hoyas.
Syracuse basketball and Georgetown continue their storied rivalry on Saturday.
But for me, this game and rivalry will always matter. It was as big as any other rivalry in any sport and led to close games, confrontations and a bitter division of the two fan bases. In my mind and in my heart, beating Georgetown is as important as a national championship or fresh air.
And while the two respective coaches might not be named Boeheim or Thompson, I assure you that this game matters to Syracuse coach Adrian Autry and his staff as well as Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley and his staff.
"This is the biggest game of the year."
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) December 11, 2024
Syracuse men's basketball assistant coach Allen Griffin (@coach_griffin1) speaks on the significance of Syracuse's upcoming game against longtime rival Georgetown on Saturday.
📺: https://t.co/po1czMWkny pic.twitter.com/79O1RW8xXF
I don't want anything for my birthday. I don't want anything for Christmas. I don't want much in this life but one thing I do want is for Syracuse to beat the current 7-2 Georgetown Hoyas.
I want this to be a point in the season Syracuse fans can look back on with joy and know this is a big win that helped propel the Orange to a tournament bid and sent the Georgetown Hoyas spiraling downward and reminded the Big East exactly what they're missing out on by not doing more years ago when they had the chance to keep teams like Syracuse happy and in the conference.
Please beat Georgetown! PLEASE!