Xavier's Biggest Conference Rival is Now...

[SixFig]

Biggest Big East Rival...GO!

[DC Muskie]

Marquette?

[BMoreX]

I'll stick with Butler since there is history the past few years.

This could and probably will change over the next few years, probably adding Marquette and Georgetown as big rivals.

[GoMuskies]

Marquette must die.

[Masterofreality]

Butler....for now, but I believe Marquette will become more heated.

[xu95]

I voted Butler, but I can easily see it becoming Marquette. I might have to make a trip up to Wisconsin next year.

[LadyMuskie]

We owe Marquette payback for the disaster that was the first round in Cleveland. I'd say ultimately it will be Marquette.

[MCXU]

For now... Butler.

They have earned it.

[STL_XUfan]

Creighton is a dark horse for the position. Is there a recent game against them that didn't end in excitement or controversy. This is the team that miller on a coaches show swore we would never play again due to the hometown reffing we saw in Omaha.

[xu95]

As a nice intro to a conference with Creighton, I will always remember them because my beautiful wife decided I was worth marrying on David West bobblehead night on December 31st, 2002. You guessed it, we were playing Creighton.

[GoMuskies]

Kyle Korver was amazing that night. But not amazing enough.

It was definitely the best game of Keith Jackson's life.

[Muskie]

I'm waiting to get some games against these fine institutions under our belt in conference play. Let's see the intensity then. But i tend to think it will be Butler.

[LadyMuskie]

I just hope none of the fan bases are like that of that school whic shall not be named up north on I-75.

[GIMMFD]

Butler for now, due to recent history, I think it's going to take 3-5 years to pan out an actual rival, could easily see it being Marquette, Georgetown, or Nova.

[xudash]

Butler for now, due to recent history, I think it's going to take 3-5 years to pan out an actual rival, could easily see it being Marquette, Georgetown, or Nova.

My sentiments exactly.

Butler will be a poodle with fleas.

[Porkopolis]

As others have said Butler for now but I suspect someone else will unseat them rather quickly. My money is on Marquette.

[ballyhoohoo]

I just hope none of the fan bases are like that of that school whic shall not be named up north on I-75.

Findlay?

[LA Muskie]

The games I will care most about will be Georgetown. Take on the giant. That's my vote.

[Pete Delkus]

How can anyone want this guy to win, outside of Marquette fans?

http://www.ngngsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/buzz-williams-dancing.jpg

[MCXU]

Findlay?

UHHHHHH.

I hope we never play Findlay again, those arrogant jerk faces.

I hate those guys and their stupid oil derricks!

And orange just pisses me right off.

[xu95]

Kyle Korver was amazing that night. But not amazing enough.

It was definitely the best game of Keith Jackson's life.

I don't think Kyle missed a shot in the last five minutes of that game. He almost single handedly won it for Creighton.

[xu95]

Lady Muskie, did your daughter wear her cheerleading outfit to the announcement? That is awesome.

[UCGRAD4X]

Going in it has got to be Butler, as in, "Who is the better addition from the A10?"

But, I think it will eventually be Marquette. When Diulio (sp?) went up there and then ditched us just when a great Catholic conference was starting to take shape - it really pissed me off.

I guess it took a lot longer that I thought it would....thanks to Marquette.

[aceylone7777]

How can anyone want this guy to win, outside of Marquette fans?

http://www.ngngsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/buzz-williams-dancing.jpg

God, I remember this. Still hate Buzz for it since.

[xfan'17]

As basically everyone has said, butler now but marquette later. I am from chicago and a lot of my friends go to marquette so it will definitely be a rivalry for my friends and I.

[nuts4xu]

We will make Butler our water fountain!!!

And we will be the NEW flagship of the Big East!

[nuts4xu]

Butler will be a poodle with fleas.

And no one wants that....trust me.

[XUFan09]

God, I remember this. Still hate Buzz for it since.

What happened?

[aceylone7777]

What happened?

After Marquette beat WVU, Buzz danced a fake slow dance on top of the WVU logo right in front of the student section. Students got real pissed off and starting talking shit and yelling at him while he proceded to do an interview.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMgLgigGR5E

[GoMuskies]

Huggins is WV's coach, thus making Buzz's actions socially acceptable.

[XUFan09]

I lived in Morgantown for a year, and their fans can be downright vile. I don't blame any coach for doing anything to disrespect them. Those fans deserve nothing better.

These are the same guys that chanted "Maggie Dixon" at Jamie Dixon in reference to his sister, a former women's coach who had recently died of cancer...

[PMI]

From a personal standpoint, the rivalry with Georgetown and its fans is going to be one of the biggest changes of my sports fanship. I have tons of Hoya friends and have always rooted for them in the Big East. Now, they're the target. Something tells me that's going to be a good rivalry. We already have a player we can hate in DSR!

[GoMuskies]

DSR is one of my all-time favorites. Love that guy. If he keeps his commitement, we probably don't have Semaj.

[PMI]

DSR is one of my all-time favorites. Love that guy. If he keeps his commitement, we probably don't have Semaj.

Yup. Worked out just fine, except for me because I owe like 10 people beers. But still, I'd rather have Semaj any day, and I say that as someone who's watched DSR plenty this year and have been impressed.

[paulxu]

Clearly UC will be our biggest conference rival.

What? They aren't? ............

[GIMMFD]

I lived in Morgantown for a year, and their fans can be downright vile. I don't blame any coach for doing anything to disrespect them. Those fans deserve nothing better.

These are the same guys that chanted "Maggie Dixon" at Jamie Dixon in reference to his sister, a former women's coach who had recently died of cancer...

I was there for a football game, they chanted "We Were" to Marshall fans... so yeah, there's that.
But that being said, I'm from WV, and a pretty big Mountaineers enthusiast. Wasn't a big fan of Buzz Williams at that point either.

[Cheesehead]

As a nice intro to a conference with Creighton, I will always remember them because my beautiful wife decided I was worth marrying on David West bobblehead night on December 31st, 2002. You guessed it, we were playing Creighton.

One of the best games I have watched at Cintas. Korver was a stud.

[Cheesehead]

Huggins is WV's coach, thus making Buzz's actions socially acceptable.

agreed. Buzz also apologized almost immediately.

[DC Muskie]

agreed. Buzz also apologized almost immediately.

Why were the students still there? Didn't they have couches to burn?

[xubrew]

I think there will be plenty of hate to go around in this conference. This is a real conference where every game has some intensity to it, and some games will have a lot more than others.

I agree with those who think Butler is currently the biggest rival, but that Marquette will become the biggest rival. Although, both will be red letter games. If the format stays at ten teams, which I'm hoping it does, we'll play each of them twice.

This is going to be a great league with great rivalries across the board. Dayton was a rival, but at times I think it was a rival out of necessity. The Atlantic Ten was more of a cluster than a conference, and there were so few games that actually felt like conference games. We needed a rival, so we made that into one. I think the rivalries in this conference are going to be a lot more heated than that. It's similar types of fans, but with better teams.

[Michigan Muskie]

This is going to be a great league with great rivalries across the board. Dayton was a rival, but at times I think it was a rival out of necessity. The Atlantic Ten was more of a cluster than a conference, and there were so few games that actually felt like conference games. We needed a rival, so we made that into one. I think the rivalries in this conference are going to be a lot more heated than that. It's similar types of fans, but with better teams.

The problem with the Dayton rivalry is that there is never any pressure on Dayton to win. Although the overall series record favors UD, it's clear to anyone outside the Greater Miami Valley that Dayton and Xavier are not evenly-matched programs. This is what has created the little brother syndrome (well, that and the Flyers actually hiring Sean Miller's little brother) and there's never pressure on little brother to beat big brother.

For that reason alone, I'm entirely fine with putting an end to that series, and am eager to establish new legitimate rivalries with schools who have more at stake (and pressure) to win than just beating big brother. Because of our history with them, Butler, Creighton, and Marquette to an extent seem to be the front runners to emerge as rivals, but it will be interesting to see how this evolves over the next few years.

If I remember correctly, before joining the A-10, Xavier used to play some intense contests with GW, and it started to feel like a rivalry. Then they became conference foes and GW started to suck, so that faded. If Xavier will truly contend for a Big East title year in and year out, which they should, then natural rivalries should develop with other teams with similar expectations. Let's see which teams are legitimately playing for the title every single year, and then we'll find out who the true conference rivals are.

So long, little brother. We can drag you along only so far before it's time for you to learn how to walk on your own.

[Masterofreality]

Yeah, I'd be Ok with ending the "rivalry" with udump. Maybe agree to an alternating series of one game every year because A) It's a close road game, B) It probably won't hurt the SOS.

I'm also Ok with dropping them all together. We will have plenty of venom soon for Marquette and the arrogant Buzz Williams. We will always dislike Butler. St. Johns may become a target of disdain because of the New York superiority complex. And I also started to detect some negative feelings toward Creighton when we played that series with them. There will be plenty of places to escalate the hate and the Cryers can just fade to the background.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Has to be Bulter, then Marquette. We have a long history playing vs Marq., so they might be our #1 rival in the near future.

[xubrew]

The problem with the Dayton rivalry is that there is never any pressure on Dayton to win. Although the overall series record favors UD, it's clear to anyone outside the Greater Miami Valley that Dayton and Xavier are not evenly-matched programs. This is what has created the little brother syndrome (well, that and the Flyers actually hiring Sean Miller's little brother) and there's never pressure on little brother to beat big brother.

For that reason alone, I'm entirely fine with putting an end to that series, and am eager to establish new legitimate rivalries with schools who have more at stake (and pressure) to win than just beating big brother. Because of our history with them, Butler, Creighton, and Marquette to an extent seem to be the front runners to emerge as rivals, but it will be interesting to see how this evolves over the next few years.

If I remember correctly, before joining the A-10, Xavier used to play some intense contests with GW, and it started to feel like a rivalry. Then they became conference foes and GW started to suck, so that faded. If Xavier will truly contend for a Big East title year in and year out, which they should, then natural rivalries should develop with other teams with similar expectations. Let's see which teams are legitimately playing for the title every single year, and then we'll find out who the true conference rivals are.

So long, little brother. We can drag you along only so far before it's time for you to learn how to walk on your own.

I'm just now seeing this, so.....

Didn't Xavier v Evansville used to be really heated?? I really think that is what will happen with Dayton, at least to a large extent.

Right now, there isn't a single team that moves the needle over here more than Dayton. If you were to just start a thread and label it "Dayton" and not say anything else, there'd probably be fifty replies within a matter of hours. In a year or two, no one will even be thinking about them. They'll remember them, but only in the sense that we remember Evansville. I just think it's going to fade way into the background. The people that have so much venom toward them now won't care anymore. No one really seems to have any venom toward Evansville. No one would really care that much if we played them or not. Some may think it'd be kind of fun, especially if they can become relevant in the Missouri Valley again. No one will really care about or think about Dayton either.

I don't mean that as a dig, or as praise. I just think that's how it's going to be. If people think they hate Dayton now, just wait until they get a load of some of these new teams. In two years, and maybe sooner, people who think they hate Dayton now wll hate Marquette and Butler infinantly more, and barely remember that there was a time when they hated Dayton. They'll actually root for UD if the Flyers ever plays those teams, just like they'd root for Evansville if they were to play UD or Butler right now.

[dedley]

yeah its marquette