Well, well, if it ain’t the Hoyas coming to town.
Syracuse sees a familiar foe this Saturday against Georgetown as the former Big East rivals meet at the Carrier Dome.
In 93 total meetings between the two sides, the Orange holds a 50-43 advantage. However, the series is completely split over the last 12 meetings, and even belongs to the Hoyas since Syracuse left for the ACC in 2013 (2-1).
Georgetown enters at 7-1 (1-0), having only lost to Loyola Marymount. The Lions posted the worst shooting performance the Hoyas have seen all year (34.5%), yet still walked out with a victory. That’s in large part because Georgetown answered with season-lows in field goal percentage (34.7%) and three-point percentage (15.8%).
For Syracuse, they’ll try repeating last year’s result against the Hoyas, just perhaps in slightly more comfortable fashion. It took overtime for the Orange to get passed Georgetown in D.C. last December, but this time around, Syracuse is on its home court.
If there’s one thing you can bank on for Saturday’s matchup, it’s that even though these teams are no longer conference rivals, this weekend at The Dome will still be like good old times.
For one, it’s safe to say that Buddy Boeheim doesn’t care too much for the Hoyas.
Looks like Buddy still thinks Saturday is a rivalry game. pic.twitter.com/J3GMOl1lnu
— Orange Fizz (@OrangeFizz) December 5, 2018
The Orange won at Georgetown last season, but still looks for revenge from the last time it hosted the Hoyas on The Hill. It was Dec. 17, 2016, in front of a rowdy Carrier Dome crowd when Georgetown rallied past Syracuse 78-71, despite 29 points from Tyler Lydon.
Coincidentally enough, that Orange team in 2016-2017 started its season off relatively similar to this year’s squad.¬†After a few early season losses (including two back-to-back like this year’s team), Syracuse came into that game against Georgetown at 6-3.
Just a reminder, however, that was also the same team to¬†miss the NCAA Tournament and lose in the second round of the NIT… as if the Orange needed more motivation to grab a win on Saturday.
Tipoff is at 3:30.
