We’re just a few days away from the season’s first match-up between Pittsburgh and Syracuse. What have been some of this rivalry’s most exciting games in recent memory?

On January 19th, Pittsburgh and Syracuse will meet at the Carrier Dome for their first match-up of 2019. The two schools have been yearly rivals ever since the Orange joined the Big East nearly forty years ago, and retained this rivalry when they both left for the ACC in 2013. Since 1949, Syracuse leads the series 59-40, but both teams have definitely had some exciting moments in these games.

Syracuse won three of the last four games, though the two years the Panthers had under Kevin Stallings were not their most successful seasons. Prior to that rough stretch, the Panthers boasted five straight wins against the Orange. There have been plenty of close action in recent years including some postseason match-ups. While this might not seem like the sexiest rivalry, these teams certainly have some history together.

Neither team has been ranked during these rivalry games for the last five years, but these are two perennially ranked and contending teams. There have been numerous top 25 match-ups between the two programs and even a top 5 match-up that we’ll touch on later. With Syracuse in their 43rd year under Jim Boeheim and Pittsburgh reinventing themselves in their first year under Jeff Capel, these two programs are fit to build momentum and make these games high profile once more.

For now, we’re going to take a closer look at the five most exciting games of the last decade.