The Duke Blue Devils will never be Syracuse's Rival

[cuseattle]

And Alaska, remember Kentucky and the Ville didn't play each other for like 10 years. We will get it back with those stupid hoyas in a bit. though.

 

[CaptainJ]

(F) UNC and Duke are likely to be our 2 biggest rivalries for awhile, but anything is possible, especially with the ongoing conference shifts, coaches retiring, and programs rising and falling in prominence. I do agree though, that it takes both sides feeling it for it to be a big time rivalry, and I am not sure at what point we will do enough to earn that. Remember when new teams entered the Big East? Did we immediately consider any of them a rivalry?

With Georgetown beating us and closing out Manley(although that was a bit before my time), and JT having the gall to make his statement, that's how a rivalry starts. That Laettner stomp 2 posts above mine is another example. Even though Duke/UNC (or any others evetually like Miami, NC State, etc) could be tough opponents and games we look forward too, I think it's tough to argue that there will be any sort of a 2-way grudge like we had with Georgetown, and to an extent UConn. As others have said it can take something painful, or something a bit outlandish(like Georgetown, which then built with the next ingredient), or a long power struggle(as with UConn). I have nothing against anyone getting excited as some have suggested others do, but I don't expect any instant 2 way rivalry with the magical feel we had with Georgetown. Right now Duke coming to the Dome has the ingredient of novelty because we rarely schedule top tier out of conference programs like Duke/UNC/UK/KU, etc(which I had wished for, for ages) like each of those schools seems to manage to do annually, and we have only one school picked above us in the new(weak) conference this year. Even with the novelty, I don't see ESPN playing Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" to open the broadcast vs Duke like they did when Billy Owens and Alonzo Mourning squared off for the first time. Do you? To me, that's what a rivalry feels like and as excited as I will be, it will not be the same as that. Possibly it could be someday.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I don't care if Louisville is as good as the '96 Bulls going forward. They have never been, and in all likelihood never will be our rivals.

Our rivals are Georgetown and Connecticut, and I don't see conference re-alignment ending that.

You're not old enough to remember before the Big East. Our rivals used to be St. Bonaventure, Niagara and St. John's, before it was Georgetown or UConn. And those were heated rivalries, trust me. At Olean, they used to throw pennies at our players on the bench. I agree that Louisville looks like an early candidate, based on how frequently they took our lunch money these past few years in the Big East.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Boeheim answered this question very nicely on that Centerstage show on Yes.
Michael Kay asked him who our big rival is.
I will shorthand the profanity Boeheim uttered by using the full name.
But his answer was an unhesitating, "G-town, G-town, G-town."

There's a difference between a rival you badly want to beat and with whom you have great -maybe even legendary - games... and the Arch-rival you live to hate.

We'll have some great ACC battles.
But c'mon athletic department...it's time to make a long term deal with G-town.
Keep hate alive!

GO ORANGE!

I think his other answer was telling. "Who would you least want to coach against in an NCAA Championship Game?" "Rick Pitino"

 

[AlaskaSU]

And Alaska, remember Kentucky and the Ville didn't play each other for like 10 years. We will get it back with those stupid hoyas in a bit. though.

Will the Hoyas be relevant in the future?

 

[AlaskaSU]

You're not old enough to remember before the Big East. Our rivals used to be St. Bonaventure, Niagara and St. John's, before it was Georgetown or UConn. And those were heated rivalries, trust me. At Olean, they used to throw pennies at our players on the bench. I agree that Louisville looks like an early candidate, based on how frequently they took our lunch money these past few years in the Big East.

I remember when Niagara had Calvin Murphy and was able to give us a game but we moved on. Our universe of potential rivals no longer includes second tier schools like Miami and N Carolina State. We are at the top and the three other top schools in our conference, Ville, NC and Duke, already have their own primary rival.

 

[Col. Bleep]

Will the Hoyas be relevant in the future?

Only to the extent that we revive the series and mercilessly give them the beatings they so deserve year in and year out.

 

[Ghost]

Will the Hoyas be relevant in the future?

They're in the Big East - that alone should keep them somewhat relevant. Not AS relevant, but at least they have some legit schools hanging about. If that conference can avoid falling apart within the first few years, it should be a decent second tier conference going forward.

UConn though - not sure what becomes of them. If they can't escape I guess they dream big and hope they're Memphis post-Calipari. And seriously, does anyone care about Memphis?

At the end of the day, even if we played neither school for five years, and they fade a bit, I would still want to kill the Hoyas. I would probably look at UConn the same way I would Nova or St. Johns. A fun game, not much more.