NCAA basketball rivalries: Ranking the top 25 college basketball rivalries

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: A fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels (L) and the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo while holding a sign referring to the Duke/UNC rivalry during the semifinals of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 10, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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No. 18 – Pitt Panthers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

All-Time Series: West Virginia leads 99-88

The “Backyard Brawl” is one of the more underrated rivalries in all of college basketball, another in the long line of conference realignment victims. The matchup between West Virginia and Pitt was an annual staple for the programs from 1918 through 2012, when West Virginia left the Big East conference for the Big 12.

The campuses sit roughly 70 miles apart and this geographic proximity played a factor in early contests and recruiting. The rivalry featured notable alumni such as Jerry West, who led the Mountaineers in the late 1950s through 1960 and Bob Huggins, current West Virginia head coach and point guard in the mid-1970s, and DeJuan Blair, first-team All-American for Pitt in 2008-09.

While initially a victim of realignment, the rivalry has come back in force in recent years, beginning with a December matchup in 2017. West Virginia has won the three meetings since the rivalry’s renewal, and the programs have agreed to one more game in 2020. Fans of these programs certainly hope the athletic departments get together and agree on another extension of what has been one of the better rivalries over the years, but one which needs more time, more games, and more success of the individual programs to return to its peak.

Game of Note: February 9, 2006 – No. 14 Pitt def No. 9 West Virginia 57-53

In the first of what would be six meetings all-time where each program was ranked in the top-25, Pitt earned a home victory over No. 9 West Virginia in a notable game where West Virginia’s star Kevin Pittsnogle was held scoreless on 0-12 shooting. The return match in conference play would come 18 days later where then-No. 14 West Virginia would return the favor and defeat then-No. 9 Pitt. The teams would battle a third time that season in the Quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, where Pitt pulled out the victory on its way to the Big East Championship game, losing to Syracuse.