Who do you really want to beat?

[RedStormNation]

I know a G'Town fan just said they don't like us, but in a strange way I actually like the G'Town fans lol. At MSG I cannot stand UConn fans. I absolutely cannot stand Cuse fans. But G'Town fans from my experiences are knowledgeable, friendly, and seem to be very pro-Big East as a whole. I remember the Porter led G'Town team beating us by what felt like 30 at MSG a few years back. I was in a section with some G'Town fans and they said "Don't worry man, you guys have a strong core for the future...the Johnnies will be fine". They were classy and fun to talk basketball with. They seem to enjoy the games and the experience. Cuse and UConn fans are unbearable. They scream and yell after every single point. Then they have to go the extra mile and turn around and taunt the Johnnies fans. I almost got into a fight at the SJ vs. Cuse game this year with a Cuse fan. I kept asking when their flight back to Canada was.

[Westbrook36]

Teams I least like in the New BE: Villanova, St. John's, Marquette, and then Xavier. Which pretty much corresponds to the 4 cockiest fan bases in the new BE.

Pretty funny coming from a Georgetown fan.

This, +1, QFT, however you want to say it, this is hilarious coming from a Georgetown fan.

[Smitty03]

I think a big part of rivalries is the level of disdain you have for the other teams coach. That being said I would have to go with The Johnnies. Something about Lavin bothers the sh*t out of me. I think a rivalry between Xavier or Marquette is more likely however for Creighton fans.

[hoyahooligan]

Teams I least like in the New BE: Villanova, St. John's, Marquette, and then Xavier. Which pretty much corresponds to the 4 cockiest fan bases in the new BE.

Pretty funny coming from a Georgetown fan.

This, +1, QFT, however you want to say it, this is hilarious coming from a Georgetown fan.

again I understand where you're coming from when it comes to off the court stuff like education and stuff like that, but when it comes to basketball Georgetown fans tend to be like stever and pessimistic so tend not to be cocky about our chances to win any game. I'm pretty much an exception when it comes to Georgetown fans.

and when it comes to the teams I listed as not liking it comes almost exclusively from interactions with fans on messageboards not fans in real life. Most fans you meet in real life (besides Syracuse and a few others) are generally nice and not the horrible people you see on messageboards.

[pki1998]

Everybody

As of right now I don't hate anyone one in the league. In the A-10 I wanted to put a beat down on Duquense, because they played dirty. I don't mind teams that are physical and gives hard fouls, but Duquense plays dirty lots of elbows and forearms to the head. Hopefully we neve have a team like that.

With that being said I there used to be a few games I looked forward to in the A-10 out of mutual respect. Here are the teams that I hope become Xavier's new Rivals

1) Butler - Butler was a fun team to play back in the MCC days, and we have played a few OOC series. Familiarity is a key ingredient to developing a rivalry. These games are going to be important to recruiting as well, since X recruits indiana hard. I've had a lot of respect for what butler has done over the years so I am really hoping this develops into a rivalry of mutual respect.

2) I really want to beat Villanova! First I love playing in Philly! My favorite A-10 games were against St Joe's and Temple. But that is only part of it. Villanova style of play is likely to be the toughest for Xavier style of defense. My guess is X is going to win about 20% of games against Villanova. So while Villanova fans might not care much about the against X, I will really want to beat them

3) I really hope X develops a rivalry with Georgetown. Georgetown fans probably don't remember but I will never forget the game that X got on the national map! XU beat Georgetown lead by Alounzo Mourning and Dikembe M. To advanced to the sweet 16 for the first time. By far the most exciting game I have ever been at. I hope for some more exciting games like that in the future

[GumbyDamnit!]

1. Gtown - title game history; the 2 most successful long-term BE programs

I think the rest depends on who is good from year to year. It's been tough to look forward to beating teams like SHU, DePaul or PC because usually they are struggling. Hope that changes. Could see SHU or SJU jumping in that #2 hole if either get consistently better. But overall if teams like CU or XU remain consistent contenders as well as Nova, I think you'll start to see a respect/hate develop quickly.

Side note: I always enjoyed beating Rutgers in the old BE because they put such a bad product on the floor but their fans were insufferable about how each preseason, "this was the year that they were going to pass Nova in the league." Just hated that program in every way. Rutgers to the Big East was like dog poo to a brand new pair Air Jordan's.

[mpwalsh8]

For me Georgetown is always enemy #1. When I enrolled at Villanova in 1982 Georgetown, with Patrick Ewing, was at or near the height of Hoya Paranoia and the best team in the country for a couple years. Georgetown was always the biggest game of the year and the hardest ticket to get. The fact that I was a student at Villanova in '85 when we beat Georgetown makes any victory over Georgetown that much sweeter and any defeat that much more painful.

Number 2 is probably Marquette and it isn't because I dislike them for any reason, in fact, quite the opposite. I like Marquette and think they have the best uniforms in the Big East and top 3-5 in the country. I have a number of family members who went to Marquette (mother, father, sister, uncle #1, uncle #2, cousin, grandfather, former co-worker) so we always have some trash talk prior to the games along with a token bet for a beer or two. The fact that Villanova has won the majority of the games against Marquette means I haven't had to pay up very often. Plus we always have something in common to talk about.

After that it is probably St. Johns and Providence. The fact that SJU regularly beat VU when I was a student and my general apathy toward NYC (I think it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay overrated) puts them next on my list. They were down for so long that my dislike became more ambivalence but with their recent resurgence, it is back to dislike. I think the SJU-VU game could be a real problem for Villanova based on the way they played Creighton played Sunday night. I have no data to back this up and to lazy to look but no matter how good or bad they are, Providence always seems to play VU tough and has beaten VU a number of times when it seemed like they had no business doing so.

I have no real strong feelings one way or the other for the other schools. They are just opponents although after being taken to the woodshed by Creighton a few weeks ago, I would very much like to see Villanova win in Omaha on Sunday although I don't expect it to happen.

[XBand15]

I don't know that I truly hate any of the teams in the Big East. But I do always want to beat Butler. The Xavier-Butler game is always a good one and I always enjoy beating them. I also have a couple friends at Butler so its nice to get to rub it in there faces. Other than that I don't really know there is another team I want to beat more than the others. I have respect for almost all the schools in the Big East so while I may act like I hate your school because I want to beat you real badly, its mostly out of respect, not actual hatred.

[MUBoxer]

Nova and GTown. Until other teams prove that they're adjusted to the BE and on top every year here like I expect X to be, it'll always just be Nova and GTown. Being and MU fan makes you feel like their little brother who's achieved pretty much everything they have but they laugh at you anyways.

[TrueBlueJay]

This week it would have to be Butler and Villanova...check back with me next week.