UConn men's basketball rivalry with Providence moves to Madison Square Garden for Big East Tournament | Page 2 | The Boneyard

UConn men's basketball rivalry with Providence moves to Madison Square Garden for Big East Tournament

Son of Robert said:
Seriously folks, it's 2023 and Providence is most definitely one of our main rivals. It's a a real thing; we don't like each other, they are just across the border in Rhode Island, we're in the same conference, and this will be our third meeting this year. This rivalry is dirty, lots of venom in both of our fan bases, both teams are playing great basketball this year, and both of us ranked most of the year.

This rivalry is good for us; it brings out the unwanted, underlying grudging respect we have for each other. We don't like you, and we really want to beat you. We're tied up 1 and 1, and this game matters the most. Madison Square Garden will be rocking!
Expand ...
absolutely. Can you imagine a thread like this when UConn was in the AAC with the likes of Tulsa, Tulane, East Carolina, SMU, etc. That's my long winded way of saying to embrace the rivalry, it's good for the Big East conference.
 
Palatine said:
Pee Cee doesn't matter enough to be a rival. No one is really emotionally invested in the game more than any other. Can you remember any game with the Friars that was meaningful to a Huskies season or championship? In fact, I don't think we have a true rival in the Big East.

A contest with Syracuse still holds more importance in Huskies fandom than any BE foe. There is real history there, the six overtime classic, losing three times to SU and still winning the NC. It is one match up that people outside the conference would watch with interest. It could fill up the garden. I still fear Preston Shumpert.
Expand ...
When did UConn lose to Syracuse 3 times and win the title? That never happened in 1999, 2004, 2011, or 2014.
 
John said:
The last time St John's was relevant, cell phones were the size of shoe boxes. The last time PC was relevant, cell phones hadn't been invented yet.
Expand ...
St Johns was a rival during Jarvis time, and it's hard to deny it since they specifically tried to block UConn fans from buying huge amounts of MSG seats then. Non rivals would not care.

Many of our rivalries have been during short periods.... Gtown, SJU, Pitt, Miami . It will be same with PC. I guess Cuse could have been the one if still in same conference.
 
MuchoDogYears said:
In the new Big East, I consider St. John’s our most natural rival with PC a close second.

Proximity is the most important factor.

Both typically field competitive teams, which is a necessary factor. The years that they are really good, the rivalry becomes hot.

And finally, both their fanbases care about BB, so they bring the hate. You can’t have a true rivalry with a team whose fans don’t get emotionally warped about losing to us.

Seton Hall doesn’t qualify even though they have the proximity factor. Their fanbase isn’t passionate enough about BB, and they aren’t consistently good enough.

Marquette, Xavier, and Creighton can have outstanding teams, like this year. But the consistency of their teams is more up and down, linked to who the coach is. Plus, there’s no local proximity to us. Their fan bases are good, but they don’t project any hate towards us. So none qualify as rivals.

Villanova is somewhere in between. They are usually very good to excellent. And their proximity is close enough to matter. Plus they're a historic basketball school with a good fan base. But they don’t seem to hold any distinct hate towards us as a team or fanbase. There’s mutual respect between programs and fans, but no bitter rivalry.

The rest of the new Big East teams bring no factors to qualify as a rival to us.
Expand ...
with Creighton and Nova there is definitely hatred as I have read their forums many times. They respect UConn, but they hate UConn they love nothing more than to beat UConn. Same goes for PC fans.
 
Son of Robert said:
Seriously folks, it's 2023 and Providence is most definitely one of our main rivals. It's a a real thing; we don't like each other, they are just across the border in Rhode Island, we're in the same conference, and this will be our third meeting this year. This rivalry is dirty, lots of venom in both of our fan bases, both teams are playing great basketball this year, and both of us ranked most of the year.

This rivalry is good for us; it brings out the unwanted, underlying grudging respect we have for each other. We don't like you, and we really want to beat you. We're tied up 1 and 1, and this game matters the most. Madison Square Garden will be rocking!
Expand ...

Absolutely this. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous.
 
.-.
August_West said:
Absolutely this. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous.
Expand ...
When we were in the wilderness of the AAC, the matchups that we had with Syracuse received as much attention as any matchups in or out of conference going back to when we won the NIT. If PC was something even bordering on a potential rivalry there would have been some ground swell within our fan base to schedule games with them. Other than a couple stray threads on this board, initiated by a PC fan, I don't remember anyone taking any real stance that we should play them.

And I still use my statement above as a measuring stick: a win over them holds nowhere near the value to us (our program, fanbase, alumni base, etc) than the value a win over us holds to them.
 
August_West said:
Absolutely this. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous.
Expand ...
Agree, yet another 'hot take' question that relies on a subjective definition. Providence doesn't have to be our arch-nemesis to be among UConn's rivals. Can argue how competitive a particular rival is or isn't, if there's just one rival or multiple, current best rivalry etc.

Arguably one of the most compelling things about UConn v Providence currently is UConn v Providence fans' perspectives on what kind of rivalry it is or isn't.
AKA The rivalry over being rivals.
 
PC is a rivalry only to posters here, PCs message board and on twitter. Fans of both schools who don't live on the internet I don't care about PC. Who is PC? If Cooley leaves tomorrow they have no program.
 
gsmooth said:
UConn and Villanova are the bluebloods or elite national programs of college basketball within the Big East, the other schools in the Big East are not. Ask fans of Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, Arizona, UCLA who they respect and recognize, not necessarily like, within the Big East as being largely successful programs on an elite level.

Hint: it ain't Providence or Creighton or Marquette or Xavier.

Disclaimer: I respect Providence, Creighton, Marquette, and Xavier. I am not trashing them, but they are not elite national programs.
Expand ...
Exactly-what’s the NC Title record of UC & Villanova against those you mention? 7-1?
 
I will add one other thing:

I don't ever remember a PC unintended hilarity thread and there were many years where that would have been appropriate if there really was a rivalry.
 
.-.
FfldCntyFan said:
I will add one other thing:

I don't ever remember a PC unintended hilarity thread and there were many years where that would have been appropriate if there really was a rivalry.
Expand ...
That isn’t the only measurement for a rival
 
Rivalry doesn't mean that the programs have to be evenly matched. Alabama has had way more success than Auburn, but is anybody going to argue that they don't have a rivalry?
 
huskyjawz said:
Rivalry doesn't mean that the programs have to be evenly matched. Alabama has had way more success than Auburn, but is anybody going to argue that they don't have a rivalry?
Expand ...
No it isn't, it was merely an addendum to my post a few minutes before that one.
 
gsmooth said:
with Creighton and Nova there is definitely hatred as I have read their forums many times. They respect UConn, but they hate UConn they love nothing more than to beat UConn. Same goes for PC fans.
Expand ...
IMHO I don’t agree. Creighton’s fans are midwestern in temperament and Villanova’s act like they’ve been there before, which they have. PC fans act like children if you read their board. Full of envy and hate. That’s my take.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
The day that a win over them means remotely as much to us as a win over us means to them this matchup can be considered a rivalry.

Until then,.......
Expand ...
Unfortunately, they have enough good players to get them a win if we go into Thursday remembering the second game this year instead of the first, the one in which they wasted us.

That said, wouldn't a win by them when we're on such a roll and looking forward to a long ride in the NCAA be the catalyst you're suggesting would make it a rivalry? If that's the case I really don't want a rivalry developed this year!
 
.-.
huskyjawz said:
Rivalry doesn't mean that the programs have to be evenly matched. Alabama has had way more success than Auburn, but is anybody going to argue that they don't have a rivalry?
Expand ...
Same with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
 
That's why there is the saying, "one-sided rivalry", and that's why you have :"throw the records out the window rivalries" b/c one team is way better than the other.
 
August_West said:
Absolutely this. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous.
Expand ...
Of course it's this but methinks more than one of the posts is employing smack talk that normally goes towards a team we love to hate when it's a conference rival. Especially with a big game approaching.

Remember the days when UConn, BC and Seton Hall were invited and accepted the invitation to the BE nucleus of Georgetown, Syracuse, St. Johns and Providence. We were an after thought to that nucleus' fans or at least the first three in that group until JC arrived. Providence had some good teams back then but they were never really accepted at the same level as the others. And when Nova rose to national prominence in 1985 they were part of the big four. Our rival back then was BCU. Yep Boston College University. We belittle what we most love to hate although our disdain is more from the way they kept us out of the ACC. But originally it was because they were our first BE rival. They were more on par with us than the four. That was until we got good and started beating the four consistently. Took a long time for them to stop looking down their noses condescendingly at us but now when they do the only thing they see is their own snot.

The Syracuse rivalry replaced the BCU one only after we went on that 28 or 29 game win steak against them and although they are still geographically close to us they became irrelevant bb wise.

They were replaced by Syracuse because we and they were the better teams in the league. When we remained good and Pitt was better than Cuse Pitt took over as our rivals.

So what about the Friars. I'm still waiting!!!!!
 
.-.
FfldCntyFan said:
Long ago the football national championship was always won by one of Harvard, Yale or Princeton.

Times change.
Expand ...
We and Villanova are now national BRANDS. The others are good programs-mostly.
 
I've struggled to capture my thoughts on this. PC is a rival of sorts. It reminds me of the way Kansas fans feel about K-State. KU's rival was always Missouri. K-State lives to beat KU, that's their holy grail every season. I think it's similar with UConn and PC. PC lives to beat UConn, has for decades. I used to go every UConn game at the Dunk and it's what PC lived for. To their credit, they played their butts off and beat us more than they probably should. That means it's an intense game both ways. More so than Georgetown, St. Johns, DePaul or Seton Hall.

Do we have a true rival that we UConn fans desperately seek to beat every year? No. Because with Jay Wright gone, nobody we play regularly is worthy of that attention on a regular basis. Maybe somebody will emerge.
 
huskyjawz said:
Rivalry doesn't mean that the programs have to be evenly matched. Alabama has had way more success than Auburn, but is anybody going to argue that they don't have a rivalry?
Expand ...

Friarsnoop said:
Same with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
Expand ...
You guys are naming programs that exist in the same state, which is way different. Also, Auburn has multiple national championships in football. They are not as good as Alabama, but they are still an elite program, which Providence is not.

Obviously "rivalry" is subjective, so Providence being a rival completely depends on how you define that term. For me, a rivalry exists based upon playing many very important games over some extended period of time where the results of those games have large implications on the historical success and perception of each program involved. So Providence is not a rival to me, because we don't have that history. I consider St. Johns, Pitt, Louisville, and obviously Syracuse much bigger rivals.

If someone's definition of a rival takes into account fan interaction on the interwebs, or physical proximity, etc. then Providence would be a rival, and that's fair. It's just not how I would define it.
 
gsmooth said:
absolutely. Can you imagine a thread like this when UConn was in the AAC with the likes of Tulsa, Tulane, East Carolina, SMU, etc. That's my long winded way of saying to embrace the rivalry, it's good for the Big East conference.
Expand ...
Don’t remind us of our mediocrity in the AAC :(. The BE Tournament in MSG is by far the #1 conference championship venue. The AAC championship is pitiful and will be far worse when Houston & Cincy are gone. I actually feel bad for Temple.
 
HuskyHawk said:
I've struggled to capture my thoughts on this. PC is a rival of sorts. It reminds me of the way Kansas fans feel about K-State. KU's rival was always Missouri. K-State lives to beat KU, that's their holy grail every season. I think it's similar with UConn and PC. PC lives to beat UConn, has for decades. I used to go every UConn game at the Dunk and it's what PC lived for. To their credit, they played their butts off and beat us more than they probably should. That means it's an intense game both ways. More so than Georgetown, St. Johns, DePaul or Seton Hall.

Do we have a true rival that we UConn fans desperately seek to beat every year? No. Because with Jay Wright gone, nobody we play regularly is worthy of that attention on a regular basis. Maybe somebody will emerge.
Expand ...
Absolutely totally agree with everything you said! KS & KState is the perfect example.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,207
Messages
4,556,908
Members
10,442
Latest member
Virginiafan


Top Bottom