The Georgetown Hoyas and Syracuse Orange have played a number of fantastic games in their long Big East rivalry, but all that will come to an end after Saturday's matchup at the Carrier Dome, as Syracuse will be moving to the ACC next season.
Head coach Jim Boeheim has seen a number of tough Hoyas teams over the years and he has been at the center of the rivalry of a long time, as he has been with Syracuse during the best days of the Big East in the 1980s.
"It was the premier rivalry during the history of the Big East," Boeheim said while contemplating the end of an era. "At one time, for a 10- or 15-year period, it was probably the No. 1 rivalry in the country. It's had a lot of emotional games, a lot of close, tough, hard battles right down to the end. It's really been a great rivalry for both schools."
Syracuse agreed last year to join the ACC, making Saturday's matchup the final battle in the rivalry, at least for now.
"It's not the same when you're not in the same league," Boeheim said. "It will never be the same."
According to ESPN.com, the two teams have played 87 times since 1930 and 20 of those games have been decided by two points or fewer and 12 have gone to overtime. The final matchup is being anticipated by both sides, as well as the fans. The meeting at the Carrier Dome will be the last meeting as conference rivals and the crowd is expected to exceed 35,000 fans.
Former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. battled Boeheim for years and now the Syracuse coach faces off against his son, current coach John Thompson III.
"We'd come out for the jump ball, and walking toward center court everybody is standing up and stomping their feet like 10,000 kettle drums," said Roosevelt Bouie, the team's leading scorer that season and with Louis Orr the cornerstone of Boeheim's first seasons as head coach. "In the pit of your stomach, it was so loud we used to think, 'We've got to score as fast as we can before we go deaf.'"
Both schools have had many stars come through the ranks, including players like Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutumbo, Alonzo Mourning, Reggie Williams, Charles Smith and Allen Iverson for Georgetown; and Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, Lawrence Moten, John Wallace, Donovan McNabb, Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara for Syracuse.
Some of the past games include screaming and yelling from coaches, including one time when Thompson was hit with three technicals on a single play, giving the Orange a 10 point swing. The teams also faced off in the 2006 Big East tournament when Syracuse was on its way to a tournament title, as McNamara helped the team rally from 15 points behind.
"I felt it when they left the league, more than anybody," Thompson said. "I felt that in my stomach, because that's something that you didn't think would ever happen because of what we all put into it. I'm certain Jimmy, from listening to his interviews, that disappointed him as well as everybody else, but that's life. It's what happens. We have what we have, and we have to make the best out of it."
This year the Orange are ranked eight and the Hoyas are 11th, making the final matchup a solid one for both sides. The Orange have been playing strong and are 22-4 on the season, including 10-3 in the Big East, while Georgetown is 20-4 and also 10-3 in the Big East.
Syracuse is ranked 31st in scoring and has been excellent rebounding the ball, ranking 12th in the nation. The team is also 37th in assists and 88th in field goal percentage. The team lost to Connecticut 66-58, but has won four of the past five after dropping two straight to Villanova and Pittsburgh.
Georgetown is ranked 231st in scoring, but the team has been playing stellar defense and is ranked 39th field goal percentage. The Hoyas have won eight straight games since losing 61-58 to USF and will be looking to take the sole lead in the Big East over Syracuse.
CLICK here for the official CBS College Basketball stream to follow the game live.
