Brooklyn Heights/ DUMBO

The Battle of Brooklyn, raging for 84 years, continues tonight

The Blackbirds take the long walk over to St. Francis to take on the Terriers tonight. via LIU
The Blackbirds take the long walk over to St. Francis to take on the Terriers tonight. via LIU

Kansas/Missouri. Michigan/Michigan State. Duke/Everybody (everyone hates Duke). These are some of the most storied rivalries in college basketball, blood feuds that go back decades. Brooklyn isn’t always seen as a hotbed of college athletics, despite the LIU Blackbirds making the NCAA tournament the last couple of years, but you can change that perception tonight by checking out the Battle of Brooklyn, between St. Francis College and Long Island University.

Unlike the cross-river battle that’s been newly minted between the Knicks and the Nets, the Battle of Brooklyn goes way back to 1928, back when people who complained about hipsters were bitching about gentlemen being ironically clean-shaven and not wearing hats when outdoors. The Times goes into some of the history between the two teams, noting that they’re both contenders to win their division this year and take a trip to the big dance. If you’ve never been to a college basketball game, with its beyond passionate crowds, organized cheers and cheap tickets ($10!), there are certainly worse places to get educated than tonight at the Generoso Pope Athletic Complex.

St. Francis versus Long Island University, Generoso Pope Athletic Complex, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, 7pm, $10

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