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

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

UConnSwag11

UConnSwag11

Storrs, CT The Mecca
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
14,383
Reaction Score
57,373
“Arrogant fans." Jim Calhoun's Ryan Gomes rant. A tiff over a girlfriend. A chilly welcome back to Big East. $2 beer night. Lotta UConn, PC drama over years, very little of it at MSG, and not in 25 years.

It will be on Thursday. And it will be spectacular

www.ctinsider.com

UConn's rivalry with Providence moves to Big East Tournament

The Huskies' rivalry with the Friars has grown since their return to the Big East, exacerbated by some interesting comments by PC coach Ed Cooley.
www.ctinsider.com www.ctinsider.com
 
.-.
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,.......
 
I never felt like PC was our rival. I’m starting to feel it. I’m starting to really dislike them. They are not even our little brother, they are our little cousins, but a rival is a rival.
 
PC is a rival, perhaps UConn's only current conference rival. I just can't view Creighton, X, or Marquette as rivals because of location. They are the only good program in close proximity in the the conference.

Nova should be UConn's in conference rival, but they need to figure out if their coach is good or not.
 
.-.
caw said:
PC is a rival, perhaps UConn's only current conference rival. I just can't view Creighton, X, or Marquette as rivals because of location. They are the only good program in close proximity in the the conference.

Nova should be UConn's in conference rival, but they need to figure out if their coach is good or not.
Expand ...
UConn / Villanova is now the premier made for TV matchup.
 
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!
 
I might be alone, but I'm glad that PC is now a competitive program. I think Cooley's a good coach and a strong team in Providence is good for the BE. I want every BE game to be a challenge -- good for UConn and good for the BE.
 
.-.
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.
 
Here's why Providence is our supposed "rival". Same exact recipe as the 27 days when UMass was any good.

1) They're located right in our back yard.
2) They're insanely jealous of our success.
3) They think that if they tug on Superman's cape, they'll get to feel what it's like to be a superhero.

End of the day, they're not our rival and never will be. Fans have been born, lived and graduated from UConn never knowing anything but UConn being the King to PC's jester.
 
dogpause said:
I might be alone, but I'm glad that PC is now a competitive program. I think Cooley's a good coach and a strong team in Providence is good for the BE. I want every BE game to be a challenge -- good for UConn and good for the BE.
Expand ...
I wish St. John's could be good too for the same reasons. Matchups at the Garden are a lot more fun when they are good.
 
Long ago, Yankee Conference days 50s, 60s, URI was our rival. Both schools had good teams and vied for the conference crown every season.

As we moved into the 70s UMess became our main rival. They were good, Jack Leeman was a very good coach and they had Dr J. We battled with them for spots in the NIT.

There was a minute or so when Boston College was a pretty big rival. Concurrent with the UMess period before Calhoun made then irrelevant.

Into the original Big East, Syracuse was pretty much our measuring stick. We were not their rivals, Georgetown was. Eventually though, UConn/Syracuse became a big national game. They really hated us which made the fire burn hotter.

Providence has some every good players and teams through the 60 and 70s. They were the New England flag bearer. I don't think they considered us a rival during that period. By the time the Big East was created, they were more a middle of the pack team and our games didn't mean anything extra.
 
I consider Providence is a rival because when we lose to them it feels devastating.
 
.-.
Palatine said:
Long ago, Yankee Conference days 50s, 60s, URI was our rival. Both schools had good teams and vied for the conference crown every season.
Expand ...
Long ago the football national championship was always won by one of Harvard, Yale or Princeton.

Times change.
 
XLCenterFan said:
I never felt like PC was our rival. I’m starting to feel it. I’m starting to really dislike them. They are not even our little brother, they are our little cousins, but a rival is a rival.
Expand ...
They need someone to boost their national brand. Cooley knows it. He was catty when we joined but knows deep down, like the fanbase, that they need us for them to become nationally relevant
 
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.
 
ElGreco said:
UConn / Villanova is now the premier made for TV matchup.
Expand ...
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.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,593
Messages
4,584,553
Members
10,495
Latest member
rONIn


Top Bottom