It's that time of the year again. When all our hootin' and hollerin' about Georgetown and Syracuse is played out on the court and the Big East's most legendary rivalry outside of Rutgers - Seton Hall takes the national spotlight. It's also time for the fifth installment of our wager with Hoya Suxa.
For those of you new to this nonsense, our first bet was on the Syracuse-Georgetown game at the Verizon Center in 2010, after which we were forced to pen the horrific Ode to Gerry McNamara. The second wager was on the Big East Tournament matchup that season, and resulted in HoyaSuxa scripting, directing and starring in one of the greatest short films of our generation. (Casual note: IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED IT PLEASE DO SO NOW AND EVEN IF YOU HAVE, WATCH IT AGAIN). Last year, after Georgetown's epic victory at the Carrier Dome, HoyaSuxa was forced to publish five of his precious Daily Affirmations in support of Georgetown, which resulted in this and this and this and this and this. And in the last installment, we wrote an Ode to Jimmy B.
So for those keeping track, the score is tied at 2-2 going into what could be our last ever wager. That being said, this year we're adding a crucial element to the wager: public humiliation.
(More Details After the Jump)
Casual wiseman sleepyhoya talks Georgetown's domination of Syracuse in the 80s:
Thanks to BashfulHoya we got an inside look at the Georgetown - Syracuse rivalry in the 1970's. My insights are not quite as close to the court, but cover the 80's, when the rivalry officially turned red hot. To put it simply, the Hoyas completely dominated the Orange in the 1980's. The numbers don't lie. Here is a small sample of the beatdown decade:
1) In the 1980's we played Syracuse 28 times, we won 20 of them including at least one game at Manley Field House.
2) Georgetown beat Syracuse 4 times in the Big East Championship game.
3) Georgetown won 6 Big East Championships, Syracuse won 2. It should be noted that one of those championships came when the tournament was mysteriously played at the Carrier Dome. That seminal experience of 5 days for civilized people in the vast wasteland of upstate NY led the Big East to permanently change the location to Madison Square Garden.
4) Georgetown beat Syracuse in the first ever Big East Tournament Final at Madison Square Garden.
5) The year Syracuse somehow managed to make it to the NCAA finals - you guessed it -Georgetown beat them three times.
Georgetown domination of Syracuse after The Jump:
Former John Thompson Jr. player "Bashful" takes a look back to the beginning of the Georgetown-Syracuse Rivalry:
Like any red-blooded Hoya, the thought of that team dressed in Orange incites me now. But as a veteran of the Hoya Program from the 1970s, I have to say it wasn't really a rivalry back then, but had great potential. Now, with the Big East membership of Syracuse fast approaching an end it might be worthwhile to reflect on that rivalry from when it began-in the 1970s.
A look back after The Jump:
Up from 14 heading into Showdown with Syracuse.
The thirty point WIN over South Florida seems like ages ago by now, but nonetheless we can't officially move on to discuss all things grotesquely Orange until we stamp the USF game with a healthy dose of Casual Awards. Congrats to New York Giants fans on the big Super Bowl win, and for the Patriots fans who are a bit sad this morning, well, that's just too bad. Away we go...
The Chris Wright Heart of a Champion Award:
Henry Sims. Sims dropped 13 points on just 3-7 shooting from the floor, but added 9 rebounds and 5 assists in what was another solid effort from the senior big man. Honorable mention: USF.
More Awards after The Jump:
Giants? Patriots? Any Casual Super Bowl snacks? Early yet always perfectly justifiable Syracuse hate?
Super Bowl 46 just got a lot more casual.
Bring it.
Georgetown basketball vs. South Florida: Hoyas’ defense stifles Bulls - The Washington Post
The Hoyas hold South Florida scoreless for nearly 11 minutes in the first half and shots start to fall in the second half.
Hoya Prospectus: Recap: Georgetown 75, USF 45
That's what made the first half so troublesome from the perspective of a Hoyas' fan - sure Georgetown lead by eight points at the break, but the Hoyas' inability to make shots was turning what should have been a laugher into a potential nightmare game before Georgetown headed up to Syracuse.
USF-Georgetown Haiku - Voodoo Five
I woke up for this? I'm really questioning why I woke up for this
More links after The Jump:
11AM games are terrible. But if you slept through the first half, both Georgetown and South Florida conspired to make sure you didn't miss much. The Hoyas defense was again impenetrable in the first half, but their offensive futility rivaled South Florida's, as the Hoyas only took a 23-15 points lead into half despite holding USF scoreless for 10 straight minutes.
The second half was an entirely different game as the Hoyas turned in one of their better halves of the season -- rolling USF 52-30 as if they were a low D1 competition. With Syracuse awaiting on Wednesday, it was pleasant to see Aaron Bowen and John Caprio get extended minutes as the Hoyas cruised to a 75-45 victory -- the type of score you expect out of a top 15 team. We were even treated to Bowen's specialty dunk: the flashy exclamation point (!) dunk of questionable class in the final seconds of a blowout.
Welcome back, Markel, and building delusion after the jump!
