Cornell at Syracuse a Spotlight Game

You can only hope to contain him! Last season, in front of 18,000 spectators, Cornell's Ryan Wittman scored 33 points including nine 3-pointers against the Syracuse Orange.

Mike Waters of Syracuse.com and The Post Standard believes Cornell is the most interesting opponent on the Orange's non-conference schedule. Waters writes:

Everyone knows what constitutes a big game in college basketball.

The pre-game hype. The buzz in the arena. The ESPN or CBS production trucks roll in. The students arrive early. It's a BIG game!

And this year, the Big East will have its share of big games; both in and out of conference play. But what I find intriguing are the interesting games. The opponent isn't necessarily in the Top 25. While the game might be on TV, Dick Vitale's probably not in town.

None of the Big East Conference schools have released the full non-conference portion of their schedules, but I've already found some big games and some interesting games on the slate for the 2009-2010 season.

Syracuse: The Orange will play Memphis and Florida, but Cornell comes to the Carrier Dome on Nov. 24. The Big Red is coming off consecutive NCAA appearances and Ryan Wittman's the best player in the Ivy League.

Villanova: The Wildcats will face Maryland at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. on Dec. 6, but how about the Nov. 19 game against George Mason in the Puerto Rico Tipoff on Nov. 19? That game will be on ESPNU.

West Virginia: Mountaineers fans are anticipating the Jan. 23 game against Ohio State, but I can't wait to see the outcome of WVU's trip to Cleveland State on Dec. 19.

St. John's: The Red Storm will go to Duke on Dec. 5, but before that, St. John's will come to Rochester to play St. Bonaventure on Nov. 17.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish will host UCLA on Dec. 19. I think Notre Dame's trip into Chicago to play Northwestern on Nov. 27 will be interesting.

Louisville: The hyperbole will be flowing when Louisville goes to Lexington to face Kentucky on Jan. 2. But I like the appetizer of Louisville facing Arkansas in St. Louis on Nov. 17. That one's on ESPN2.

Connecticut: UConn has really big games against Texas and Kentucky, but watch out for the Huskies trip to Ann Arbor to face John Beilein's Wolverines on Jan. 17.