Syracuse is already a rival to Pitt.
No, it is not on the same level as Ohio State-Michigan or Duke-North Carolina, but the lengthy history between the Panthers and the Orange is only rivaled -- and overtaken -- by the Backyard Brawl, at least as far as basketball is concerned within Pitt's history.
When the Orange and Panthers tip off at 5 p.m. Saturday inside the Petersen Events Center, the Oakland Zoo and the sold-out crowd certainly will not forget about Jim Boeheim's comments from a couple of weeks ago about how Jeff Capel allegedly bought -- but, didn't, after Boeheim thrice walked his comment back -- his current team through means of NIL.