Coach Patrick Ewing “Definitely” Wants Georgetown - Syracuse Series To Continue

Georgetown and Syracuse will renew one of college basketball’s most intense rivalries on Saturday when the 7-1 Hoyas travel to the Carrier Dome to take on the 6-2 Orange.

After not playing during the 2013-14 season once Syracuse bolted for the ACC, Saturday’s game is the final meeting of a four year series between the former BIG EAST foes.

The Hoyas have won two of the first three in the series.

So, does coach Ewing want Georgetown - Syracuse to continue?

“Definitely,” Ewing said on Wednesday during a media availability.

“I think it’s good for both universities. We’ve had a lot of battles over the years when they were in the BIG EAST and I think it’s good for both universities to continue.”

Ewing went 8-3 against Syracuse as a player from 1981-85 but lost his series coaching debut last season as the Hoyas squandered a double-digit second half lead before falling to the Orange 86-79 in overtime at Capital One Arena.

When asked further if he’d like to see any of the other former conference foes such as Connecticut or Boston College show up on future schedules, Ewing was less certain.

“I’m not even sure about those guys yet,” said Ewing.

For Ewing, if Syracuse remains on the schedule he’s got his top two rivals accounted for.

“Syracuse was one of the biggest rivalries that we had so we definitely want to continue that. St. John’s was the next but they’re still in the BIG EAST. The others we’ll see about it when time comes.”

Going forward Syracuse will have two less non-conference games available for scheduling as the ACC is going from an 18-game schedule to a 20-game for the 2019-20 season.