A driving force in the success of the original Big East Conference of 1979 – 2013 during its 34 seasons of play was Georgetown ′ s rivalry with Syracuse , but play between the teams had come to an end after the conclusion of the 2012-13 season when the conference broke up during the summer of 2013 . The original conference survived as the American Athletic Conference ( marketed as " the American " ) , but Georgetown and Syracuse left it , the Hoyas to become a charter member of the new Big East Conference and the Orange to join the Atlantic Coast Conference , and they had gone two seasons without meeting . To renew the rivalry , the schools agreed to a home-and-home series in which Georgetown hosted Syracuse this season and would visit Syracuse the next season , with the hope that the teams would continue to meet annually after that . As a result , Georgetown 's homestand continued with its first meeting with Syracuse since 2013 . The No. 14 Orange were the Hoyas ′ third ranked opponent of the season , and they arrived at the Verizon Center on December 5 with a record of 6 – 1 , having lost their first game of the year to Wisconsin three days earlier . Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim , who had coached the Orange throughout the original Big East ′ s run , was not present , however , as he began serving a nine-game NCAA suspension that day because of various NCAA rules violations , and assistant coach Mike Hopkins led the Orange . The Hoyas took a 36 – 24 lead at the half , and started the second half with an 11-2 run to pull ahead 47-26 . The Orange battled back , closing to a six-point deficit in the last minute of the game , but the Hoyas held on for a 79 – 72 upset victory , their fifth defeat of Syracuse in the last seven meetings between the schools , and their first win of the season over a ranked opponent . Bradley Hayes scored a career-high 21 points along with eight rebounds , while Isaac Copeland finished with 14 points , Marcus Derrickson finished with his first career double-double ( 13 points and 10 rebounds ) , and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 11 points . For the first time in the 2015 – 2016 season , Georgetown had a winning record , at 4 – 3
original Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2015–16 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team