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by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

Georgetown coach John Thompson III doesn’t need to remember his introduction to the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry; he lived it.

“I was not on the bench and/or playing, but … I was part of it,” he said by phone Thursday. “Every game from Manley Field House on, I’ve either been at, or listened to, or watched on television and had a deep-seated rooting interest.

“Whenever these two teams get together, both teams are out for blood.”

Thompson remembers sitting next to ‘Pops’ — John Thompson Jr., Georgetown’s coach from 1972-99 — while his father watched tape. Talking with him after games. Being in the stands, just a few feet away from his father as he coached the Hoyas for all those years.

“It’s something that’s been a part of my life,” the younger Thompson said.

That’s what makes Saturday’s game — the final regular-season installation of the rivalry with both teams as members of the Big East — tough for Thompson to think about, even with the possibility of a future series.

“Without a doubt, it’ll be emotional,” Thompson said. “As much as we both plan on continuing to play, it’s going to be different. What has made these games so special, this rivalry so special — and then, in turn, made this league so special — is the Georgetown-Syracuse games. Even if we continue, they’re not going to be twice a year, three times a year, with a conference title at stake.

“It’s just going to be a team you play home-and-home with. … You don’t want to get too nostalgic, but there’s no doubt that this rivalry, Georgetown-Syracuse, is one of the most special in college basketball, and that’s going to change.”

If there is one positive to glean from the end of the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry, it’s that there has been plenty of time to mourn its passing over the past two seasons, since Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced their departure for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Former coaches and players have reminisced about pivotal moments, re-creating iconic moments such as John Thompson Jr.’s “Manley Fieldhouse is now closed” proclamation or Jim Boeheim throwing a chair at a postgame news conference. … [For more on Big East's Georgetown-Syracuse rivalry finale to be 'emotional', click here.]