Wednesday marks one of the more intriguing days on the college hoops calendar as it features two highly publicized games that also happen to be unique rivalries. While Pitt-Syracuse lacks the name recognition and overall status of Duke-UNC, the former Big East schools appear set to renew their Big East hatred while now playing in the same conference as the Heels and Blue Devils.

College sports are unlike any other when it comes to the word “rivalry.” School history and fan interaction play a unique sort of role, but you also have to put teams on the floor who can play competitively with one another over time.

While virtually everyone is familiar with the ESPN branded match-ups which will take place throughout this week, we thought it’d be of interest to take a closer look at some of the lesser known, “mid-major” rivalries in the college ranks today.

Princeton – Penn

From 1998-2007 the Ivy league was represented in the NCAA tournament every single year by one of these two teams. Their dominance during that decade only served to enhance a rivalry that was rooted in both academic excellence and general location.

The Ivy League schools have long taken sport pretty seriously and, given the fact these two programs are located only 45 minutes or so away from each other, it was inevitable that they would become fierce competitors. The two programs have met 229 times with Penn leading the series at 124-105.

More impressively, Princeton has 26 conference titles while Penn owns 25. Princeton owns five undefeated seasons while Penn has skated through the conference slate unscathed seven times. The two have also been known to tangle in critical spots on a number of occasions, with the outcomes always being memorable. Four one-loss Penn teams have suffered their only defeat at the hands of Princeton, while the number stands at three for one loss Princeton teams.

Most recently, in 2012, the Quakers needed a season ending victory over Princeton to force a one game playoff with Harvard for the conference crown.  Penn failed to get the win and found itself playing in the NIT instead.

Virginia Commonwealth – Old Dominion

VCU’s recent move into the A-10 squashed this rivalry to an extent, but the schools still meet every year and have a great history. They are only some 90 miles apart (just an afternoon’s drive on Interstate 64) and have also both enjoyed historical success thanks to their general proximity to the “D-M-V” hotbed that has evolved over time.

For six consecutive seasons prior to 2012, the schools split both match-ups. Additionally, before VCU really blew up as a program thanks to their magical 2011 NCAA tournament run to the Final Four, they had been bounced in the CAA tourney two consecutive times by their rival.

The history between these two is quite vast, with both public universities possessing affiliations with The College of William and Mary. ODU was actually founded in 1930 as a division of W&M, and thus the two programs are part of a longstanding, educational heritage within the Virginia community.

Both schools are extremely similar in that they are largely research based institutions, are set in urban neighborhoods and include a diverse student body. They began playing in 1969 and VCU leads the all-time series with a 69-48 mark, thanks in large part to a 10 consecutive win streak stretching from 2001-2005.

Austin Peay – Murray State

The Ohio Valley as a basketball conference has always put forth competitive NCAA tournament participants, with these two at the forefront of many such accomplishments.

Austin Peay and Murray are only 68 miles apart and met in five conference tournament finales from 1987-2010. While Murray has enjoyed a nice 71-41 edge throughout time, the Governors of Austin Peay have had their moments.

Back in 1987, the Governors pulled a 68-67 upset of Illinois in the first round of the NCAA’s. They have appeared in the Big Dance six times overall prior to falling on hard times in recent years, but 24th year head man Dave Loos remains one of the most well respected coaches in the south.

In 2004, the two played a classic OVC title game which saw the Racers take down Loos’ 16-0 Austin Peay squad by a 66-60 margin. The Governors entered that game 21-8 with Murray sitting at 27-5.

Murray had a great year in 2012 thanks to a dynamic lineup led by point guard Isaiah Canaan. They reached the second round of the NCAA tournament prior to falling at the hands of a good Marquette team. They finished the year 31-2.

The Racers’ recent success under Steve Prohm can largely be traced to the program’s earlier rivalry with the Governors. It enhanced the notoriety of both universities within the south and put Murray on the map as an appealing program for mid major recruits in years to come.

Iona – Manhattan

New York is both a mecca and proving ground for all things basketball, especially when it comes to youngsters trying to prove themselves at the prep level. While the city doesn’t have an elite tier school within the Division 1 ranks, it does have a couple MAAC programs worth mentioning.

Manhattan and Iona are both reasonably strong this year and have solid histories. The schools are both Catholic and the campuses small. The bus ride which separates their campuses is a whopping 8.6 miles long and provides its own historical summary of key New York City hoops landmarks.

With names like the “Jaspers” and “Gaels,” it’s no wonder why kids wouldn’t want to play for programs with such history. Iona is led by fifth year coach Tim Cluess. All he has done in that time span is take this team to two NCAA tournament appearances and build a nice foundation based on an enjoyable run and gun style.

Steve Masiello is the current lead man at Manhattan. He is a White Plains, NY native and former walk on at the University of Kentucky. He played under the likes of Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith before eventually becoming an administrative assistant at Tulane. He served as a top assistant at Manhattan in the middle portion of the decade and then eventually got the lead gig in 2011.

He has this Jaspers team primed for a potential tourney run given their exceptional balance and depth. He is also on record as stating these two schools are just as competitive as Louisville and Kentucky.

It makes sense given the plethora of New York City stars these teams have harbored over time. Jeff Ruland and Richie Guerin were NBA players who hailed from New York and played at Iona. George Bruns and Luis Flores and headline a long list of NYC products who led the Jaspers into battle over the years.

Nine of the current players under Masiello come from New York (with a tenth player originally from the Princeton area not far away), while Iona has only four NYC natives but an additional three guys from the north Jersey area.

These two programs represent the city quite well and should continue to do so for quite some time given the current coaches they have in place.

Creighton – Wichita State

Creighton is the newest member of the revamped Big East and they are making quite a splash this year. They have yet to find a true rival in this new conference, however, and it’s fair to say few will rival the way Wichita challenged them.

The Midwest is a hotbed for collegiate basketball talent. Wichita State, along with their friends from Omaha, is proving that to a serious extent right now.

The Shockers are undefeated and coming off a Final Four season one year ago. They are stacked virtually every position and it’s hard to understand how they did not win the Missouri Valley a year ago until you look at this Creighton roster.

The Blue Jays have been putting together 20 win seasons long before Doug McDermott and his dad came to town, however. It started earlier on with now Oregon Ducks coach Dana Altman. Altman got his first NCAA tournament win in 2006 and followed it up with another win in 2008.

They nearly knocked off Kentucky in 2009 and, although Altman would bounce just two years later, the program has never looked stronger. Much of their success is contributed to the McDermott clan, but this roster has depth and talent at nearly every position.

Their three meetings with Wichita in 2013 resulted in two wins, but all were classics. The conference championship was yet another classic, although the two squads have only met in that scenario twice in the last five years, a bit of a surprising stat.

It would be nice to see the two continue to play despite being in separate conferences at this point. They hatred appears very real and the venues at which they perform are both loud and obnoxious for any visitor to take in.

These two programs represent all that is good in college basketball and prove that talent shines no matter where it is located.

Gonzaga – St. Mary’s

Gonzaga is no longer considered a mid-major and that has largely been thanks to their utter dominance of the West Coast Conference.

In recent years, however, they have had to deal with an opponent and coach who have proven capable of matching them in many ways. Randy Bennett and the Gaels of St. Mary’s College have come a long way and currently sit as the second most respected program in what is a pretty exciting conference year in and year out.

These two programs have met for the five most recent conference tournament championship games. Gonzaga won three of the five games and has dominated the conference overall historically.

St. Mary’s won in 2010 and 2012 thanks to the exploits of Matthew Dellavedova. The Aussie, who also happens to currently be a Cleveland Cavalier, took the Gaels’ program to the next level and provided a face to enhance Bennett’s brand on an international frontier.

Few coaches in the collegiate landscape can match Gonzaga lead man Mark Few’s knowledge of the game, but Bennett has managed to do it. The Zags initially built their program based on sound guard play in the form of guys like Jeremy Pargo, Derek Raivio and Blake Stepp. In recent years, however, they have gone to a slightly more interior based approach.

Bennett took over SMC in 2001 and built a winner within two years. This team went to the Sweet 16 in 2009-2010 thanks to a dynamite guard tandem of Mickey McConnell and the aforementioned Dellavedova.

The Gaels face some recruiting infractions in recent seasons which could limit their ability to keep pace with Gonzaga in the immediate future. Still, both of these programs are quite strong and  have the leadership needed to continue their run of past success.