Despite the self-imposed postseason ban, this weekend’s Syracuse men’s basketball game against Duke still remains one of the biggest matchups of the season. Syracuse fans should treat it as such.

To some, the postseason ban has lowered the expectations for Saturday’s game. But regardless, this game is likely to be as good as it will get for Syracuse fans. This day can be seen as an opportunity to put forth the energy that would have been spent on the postseason tournament.

This is the first home game since the self-imposed postseason ban and is a matchup between the two winningest coaches in Division I history. This could be one of the biggest weekends of the year, as thousands of alumni and fans will be pouring into the Carrier Dome. It can still be a memorable event for fans, even though it won’t live up to last year’s expectations.

Going into the last year’s Duke game, which was the first time the Blue Devils played the Orange in the Dome, Syracuse was 20-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. Ultimately SU proved victorious, and ended the game in overtime 91-89. This season Duke’s is 21-3 and ranked No.4 in the country, while Syracuse does not fall with in the Top 25 with its 15-8 record.

Students who believe the Duke game is marred by the postseason ban should realize that the stakes were already lower for this game as Syracuse couldn’t match its previous 20-0 record. But with the ban, it is now almost inevitable that this will be the biggest game of the 2014–15 season.

The circumstances that have occurred this season should not infringe on the excitement associated with a conference game of this prominence. While the atmosphere on campus heading in to this weekend’s Duke game cannot match last year’s, Orange fans should continue to support this year’s men’s basketball team.