West Virginia-Syracuse Basketball Game To Make History In Morgantown

Saturday’s match-up between Syracuse and West Virginia will be a part of history. 

Hundreds of games have been played in the WVU Coliseum since 1970, but never has it hosted such a touted game.

The noon game will be the first game ever played between two Top 10 teams, at the Coliseum.

The Orange comes into Morgantown as the sixth ranked team in the nation, while the Mountaineers are ranked No. 9.

The sold-out crowd of over 14,000 will witness, not only history in the making, but a very athletic and solid performance from both squads.

WVU starts the game with a 13-2 overall record, with one loss—against Notre Dame—in Big East Conference play.  Syracuse has an overall record of 16-1, including a surprise loss to Big East member, Pittsburgh.

Will the defensive minded Mountaineers be able to thwart the attack of the Orange, who leads the league in offense, averaging 85 points per game?

Will Syracuse’s lacking defense have enough to fend off the WVU bench?

Will the home crowd play a role in the Big East battle?

Mountaineer Sports Network play-by-play announcer, Toni Caridi said, teams that contend for the Big East title, win their home games. He says that makes Saturday's contest even more important. He believes the sold out crowd will play a role. Syracuse is 16-1, but has only played two true road games.

"I think the crowd will have a huge factor in this game because it will be hostile and I think it's a golden opportunity for the Mountaineers," said Caridi.

No matter the hype, this will surely be one of the biggest games in NCAA Basketball, this week.

Tip-off is scheduled for noon. The game can be seen on ESPN and heard locally on the Mountaineer Sports Network.