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Message: [QUOTE="ninety-nine, post: 4215965, member: 5497"] Agreed. As long as nothing happens that's outside the bounds of good sportsmanship between these two programs, you have to think UConn and Villanova are the favorites for setting the Big East basketball rivalry standard over the next few years, and in a way that won't be cynical or frustrated. Both programs have won multiple NCs in the recent past and are considered basketball blue bloods at this point, so the fanbases are playing with house money as they enjoy their programs' legacies. It benefits both, and the Big East overall, if they can achieve competitive parity on the court and stay near the top of the league year in and year out. There may be other in-conference rivals specific to each school (say, Seton Hall for VU and Providence for UConn) that have a little different feel and intensity because of other dynamics like extreme geographic closeness and one program having outshone the other on the national stage, but a top-shelf UConn-Villanova rivalry seems like a very strong bet, and a good thing for all of us fans. (Plus, their women's program ended our women's program's incredible conference winning streak, so you can add that to the bonfire as well.) [/QUOTE]