Who is our rival now?

[freescooter]

There is a big difference between being good at the same time we are good and being a rival. I mean Creighton? Someone actually voted for them? LOL! If that were the case we’d be rivals with Kentucky and Purdue. We probably have played them almost as many times as Creighton. I think rivalries need certain things including length of the series, close games, upsets , memorable games, controversial wins and losses. And something else which can vary. Xavier and Cincinnati and Duke-UNC can practically see each other’s campus from their own. Michigan and Ohio State it is about history and tradition. You can’t “make” a game a rivalry. When they joined the ACC, some marketing whiz thought BC and Clemson would be great rivals. LOL! Michigan State-Penn State is allegedly a huge rivalry. Though neither school is very invested in it. Williams-Amherst is one. Wesleyan is in the Little 3 but is definitely the 3rd wheel. The final element, and in many ways the critical one, is your fans need to care, regardless of whether one, both or neither team is good. If you can’t say losing to XYZ would ruin our season regardless of how we did otherwise. XYZ ain’t your rival. Nobody in the NEWBIE fits that standard.

One last thing. A rivalry doesn’t stop because 1 team is good and 1 is bad. Nobody cares about Providence or St John’s or Creighton if they are bad.

 

[BlueandOG]

In the 50s and 60s -- URI

In the 70s - UMess

In the 80s - BCU

In the 90s - UMess

In the 00s - Syracuse 9 (small nod to Pitt)

Currently - None.

Not sure about your 90s analysis. I was at UCONN for the majority of the 90s (5 year plan plus...) and I don't remember us playing UMass.

 

[Inyatkin]

Not sure about your 90s analysis. I was at UCONN for the majority of the 90s (5 year plan plus...) and I don't remember us playing UMass.

We were rivals without playing each other for a while, especially in 96 when we were both 1 seeds. The next year we started playing every season.

 

[superjohn]

Marquette and Creighton are the only programs that in the Big East that have won consistently and have a strong foundation to their programs. They are the ones whom I feel are the biggest threats to achieving our goals. Xavier would be up there this year if not for the injuries. I don't see anyone else proving themselves to be threats in March at this point. I'm not even confident that Pitino will get it going at St. Johns. He's old, old school, and I can't imagine him being able to build a winning culture at the High D1 level in the NIL/portal era. All of the other coaches haven't proven anything yet. I think Butler will be closer to the top before St. Johns. If Kim English can elevate recruiting, maybe he has a chance to surpass what Cooley accomplished. If Seton Hall can get their NIL program straightened out they might have a chance with Holloway. I'm not worried about Georgetown. I'd be surprised if Cooley has the fortitude and patience to build Georgetown back up. Like Pitino, I'm not sure that he has the charisma to capture the hearts and minds of his players, especially after the whole Divine Providence debacle. His actions and words have generated a lot of possible negative recruiting material. Neptune seems to be going down, possibly in flames. And then DePaul doesn't even deserve a seat at the table at this point.

Umm Nova.

 

[UConnSwag11]

None of them. If I had to choose one, maybe MU but that will end when Kolek and those kids leave. They all want to be rivals with UCONN to raise their status and ride UCONN's coattails. It's sad.

In terms of a rivalry with fans, PC because they're absolute trash. What they did to Andrea is unforgivable. I hope we make them question their existence like we did to Xavier

 

[Huskyforlife]

Answer for me is always Cuse. I don't hate anyone else. PC has done a fantastic job forcing the rivalry, but it's hard to consider us rivals with an unsuccessful program.

 

[ninety-nine]

I had to think about this, but I decided the answer is Villanova. It's not a heated rivalry in terms of animosity, but both UConn and Nova have something other Big East schools don't have - several national championships since the conference was formed in 1979, and a credible claim to be considered among college basketball's elite programs. We're a couple of NCs ahead of them right now, but at least there's some semblance of a race to be the bluest blood in the Big East.

If PC or St. John's ever got good enough to seriously contend for an NC, I think they'd jump into play as well. There's some juice with Creighton, but it's too new, and it's heavily dependent on the happenstance of them having been better than UConn when we rejoined the Big East and having beaten us the first few times we played. I'm not sure if we'll keep circling that one on the schedule now that we've established that we can beat them, and certainly hold our own against them.

Does anyone else's cursor disappear when the popup ads on the Boneyard refresh? Weird.

 

[OkaForPrez]

The answer is everyone. It's UConn vs. everyone else. We are trying to be alone on the mountain top in the modern era. And to do that we need to kick everyone's tail on the way.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

I wish we would do some home and home series with Syracuse to bring that back some. I remember it being a huge win for Hurley when he got here his first year with Jalen Adams that was exciting.

 

[Scot-e]

I hated Quse and Gtown so much it would affect me if I met one of their fans at a dinner party. They were dead to me. I really don’t feel that way about any teams fans anymore.

 

[Scot-e]

Except maybe Dook.

 

[gsmooth]

In the 50s and 60s -- URI

In the 70s - UMess

In the 80s - BCU

In the 90s - UMess

In the 00s - Syracuse 9 (small nod to Pitt)

Currently - None.

It's interesting you say UMass in the 90s because I remember hating UMass even though UConn and UMass stopped playing each other in 1990 if I recall correctly. Whenever a UConn game was finished I would always check on how UMass did. Having Marcus Camby, a Hartford Public player, go to UMass started the resentment and I still hate that he went there. Also, UMass and UConn rose to relevance around the same time with UConn in 1990 with the Dream Season and Elite 8 finish (2.6 seconds from the Final Four) and UMass in the Sweet 16 in 1991 and they were in the Top 10 throughout each of the seasons from 1994-1996. If you recall, UConn was #2 for many weeks in 1996 but never got to #1 because UMass was occupying it and wouldn't lose.

My how times have changed. UMass is irrelevant and haven't sold out the Mullins Center since the 90s, or so it seems, and UConn is a blue blood or elite program.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Somehow someway, despite all that’s been accomplished, this might be my favorite moment from the Hurley era. Lmao

 

[navery12]

Whoever happens to be the 2nd best team in the Big East that year

 

[uconngb]

I think plenty of us hate PC. Their fans are as obnoxious as Cuse fans. If Bryce Hopkins didn't get injured I think they would have been up there in the top half of BE teams.

I hate Providence the same way I hate those tiny little dogs that yap at your heels so loudly and for so long that finally you just feel compelled to kick them like 20 yards.......

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Somehow someway, despite all that’s been accomplished, this might be my favorite moment from the Hurley era. Lmao

It's amazing. It's the final image Cuse fans have from our rivalry until we play again

 

[Kolumbo]

Georgetown, SJU, Villanova
PC, SHU

rest of the BE out there in the hinterlands

 

[PNolanFan]

I really really dont understand why we dont have a double header with like villanova at the garden where we play syracuse and pitt. I think that would be an incredible yearly event where we revolve which opponent we stomp. Would be good for all parties and i think would sell out the garden

 

[Hoophound]

Syracuse was a good rivalry. It seems to be dead for now.

I'd say PC is the most enjoyable rivalry for me. I like that they have always competed really well against us, even when we had far superior teams. They show up to play. I also like that their fans have always been loud and obnoxious. They have good support and that helps make a rivalry more meaningful.

SJU was a great foe in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Pitino should have them rolling before long and that will really rejuvenate the rivalry.

Villanova will probably hit the panic button before too long and get a great coach. Nova should be our natural rival at the top of the Big East. We’ll see if that comes back.

I felt like Creighton was a rival because they kept beating us, but now that we’ve righted that situation, I don’t feel the same attraction as I do to the above matchups.

 

[Kenny11]

Its Nova. They just need to find their Hurley if they don't make a big jump soon.

 

[willie99]

It's fluid

 

[Samoo]

It's us against the world.

 

[John]

Loved Jalen Adams

 

[NowInStorrs]

I voted Nova out of the options given but I would say it's Syracuse. That said, it's hard to be a rival with someone you don't play regularly.

 

[RichCTBB]

Umm Nova.

I'd like to think that they can still be a contender, but Neptune isn't the guy to get them there.