If you think it’s going to be absolutely bonkers in the Garden tonight, when Georgetown and Syracuse meet for the last time in the Big East Tournament, imagine the scene next season when the Hoyas and Orange might meet here for the right to go to the Final Four.
Yes, the 2014 NCAA Tournament seems like a long way off and a lot has to fall right for Georgetown and Syracuse to get back to the Big Apple, but regardless of which teams get to the World’s Most Arena, they’re going to enjoy basketball as it ought to be.
Unlike the hideous domes the NCAA has opted to use for the Final Four, the Garden is a basketball arena, one that will have been totally transformed after a three-year, nearly $1 billion project.
Sources told The Post NCAA officials, who signed the deal to bring the 2014 East Region final to the Garden based on architectural models and drawings, have been blown away by what they have seen and heard this week.
“They were floored,’’ said one source close to the NCAA. “It’s a high-tech arena that has an old-school basketball feel. We asked ourselves, ‘Why haven’t we been here in 50 years?’ ’’
Technically it has been 53 years since there was an NCAA Tournament game in the Garden, the mecca of college basketball.
Several of the best features that will be in place next season have yet to be completed, most notably the Garden Vision, center-hung scoreboard — a 360 degree continuous video screen that will provide fans a view of replays from any seat in the arena.
Sources also revealed new details about the final stage of the renovation. The entire 7th Avenue entrance and ticket lobby will become a glass-enclosed, climate-controlled, fan-friendly area that includes a retail store. Translation: As soon as a fan reaches the top of the stairs from Penn Station, he or she will be indoors.
The finishing, dramatic touch will be the two sky bridges that will span the length of the Garden. Those bridges, connecting the West Balcony and Budweiser Fan Deck, will have 500 seats each.
“There’s no question that based on what we’ve seen, we will consider Madison Square Garden in future years,’’ said a source.
* Former president Bill Clinton made his annual appearance at the Big East Tournament and visited the Louisville locker room after the game.