Dynamics of the Syracuse versus Georgetown basketball rivalry, might be changing, but that does not mean the games become less exciting. The Orange-Hoyas classic will resume in 2017.
The game will be played on the big stage, too. Syracuse and Georgetown are set for tip off in the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. on December 16.
In 2016 in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse took off to an early seven-point lead. From there, the game went back and forth, and the teams went into halftime tied at 33.
After some more back-and-forth scoring after play resumed, Georgetown permanently took the lead 3:39 into the second half. Syracuse brought the game within three points with just over a minute to play after a Tyler Lydon layup. But the Orange could not get the job done. SU fell 78-71.
John Gillon and Frank Howard both had three steals for the Orange, and Tyler Lydon had a career-high, team-leading 29 points on the night.
But in 2017, we won’t be hearing the same names. John Gillon and Andrew White III have graduated from SU, and Tyler Lydon has declared for the NBA draft.
And while Syracuse lost former Associate Head Coach Mike Hopkins to the head coach spot at Washington, Georgetown welcomes in a new head coach.
The new face at Georgetown is none other than NBA hall-of-famer Patrick Ewing. Ewing played for Georgetown all four years of his college career, from 1981 to 1985. He won multiple Player of the Year awards along the way.
Ewing spent 15 of his 17 NBA seasons with the New York Knicks. He is an eleven-time all star, and he plans to transfer some of that skill to the 2017-2018 Hoyas team.
So, is the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry over? Maybe the answer is that it’s just different.
We’ll find out this winter.
Published: David Edelstein
