BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ DePaul

January 31, 2006

Wouldn't you love to go back to the 80's and see these teams go at it when they were among the best in the nation? Tonight they meet for the first time as Big East conference members. Georgetown looks to be on their way to becoming one of the nation's best again. DePaul, in their first year with Jerry Wainwright, are trying to find some consistency to their season and most importantly, some wins in the Big East.

Here are some of the pregame stories and previews from around the internet:


Surging Hoyas Right On Schedule (Washington Times)
Hoyas Wallace Poised at Point (Washington Post)
DePaul Feels Sense of Urgency Against Hoyas (Chicago Sun-Times)

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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There is no denying that DePaul is a team struggling with everything that is new to them. They have a new coach and are playing in a new conference and it has all seemed to catch up with them of late as they enter tonight's game with Georgetown at 1-6 in the conference and 9-10 overall. Of late, injuries and discipline issues have left a starting line-up that has been juggled almost every night during their current 5-game losing streak. It has been almost a week since they have played, so if there was a time to see a team re-group, this is probably it.

On the other side of the ledger, Georgetown is a team that seems to have everything coming together just the way they hoped. They lost a couple tough road games in the conference at West Virginia and Connecticut, but have since bounced back impressively with four straight wins, including the stirring upset of Duke at the MCI Center. Tonight they head back out to the midwest to meet DePaul, one week ago, the Hoyas survived a 2 OT battle with Notre Dame.

There is no doubt a sense of urgency for DePaul and it begins now. After the Georgetown game they travel to South Florida and host Providence as they try to get back into the mix for a Big East Tournament bid. In their last game, Sammy Mejia injured his ankle and his status is unclear, but not playing over the weekend will hopefully give the ankle time to heal. Wesley Green has been hampered by injuries once again this season and Wilson Chandler left the team briefly, hopefully some practices at full strength will get the Blue Demons all back on the same page.

Georgetown is not going very deep, usually playing six players for the majority of the minutes with freshmen Jesse Sapp seeing some additional time in the backcourt, but their methodical Princeton-based offense keeps the ball spread out and drives the opponent crazy trying to defend all the positions on the floor. They have one of the better forward combinations in the nation with Brandon Bowman and Jeff Green, even though their stats are down this year, expect these two to come up big when needed. The improved Roy Hibbert and senior scorers in Ashanti Cook and Darrel Owens round out a talented group that are directed by Johnathan Wallace at the PG. This is an all-around solid team that gets it done on both ends of the floor.

I do expect DePaul to come out with some renewed energy and play a very tough game with the Hoyas. Georgetown is a 5-pt home favorite and will need to avoid peeking ahead to a date with top-10 Pittsburgh this weekend. When Duke was around the corner, Georgetown very nearly slipped up and let South Florida steal one on their home court.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 69 DePaul 66

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Cincinnati @ Georgetown

January 28, 2006


This is quite an interesting game. Georgetown pulled the big upset last weekend with a home win over Duke and then went out to Notre Dame, lost a big lead, but re-grouped and survived in double overtime. Now, they return home, with a 4-2 conference record and 13-4 overall mark.

The Bearcats seemed to hit a bottom on their roller-coaster season Wednesday night in their 67-50 loss at Louisville, which was their third loss in four games. This was the first time that they looked to be "defeated" as their listless play and poor shooting did them in.

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Lack of depth should not be an excuse Saturday for the Bearcats as it is most likely that both teams are only going to play seven players. Actually, Cincinnati might even go a little deeper with their walk-ons, but niether team is really deep and there are some intriguing match-ups, however, Cincinnati does not have an answer off the bench similar to the Hoyas' Darrel Owens or anyone the size of Roy Hibbert.

What Cincinnati will have to do is utilize their ahtletic ability at all five spots and try to get some foul trouble on the Hoyas. Kind of easier said than done, but James White and Eric Hicks both need to be at the top of their games to keep the Bearcats in this one. Devan Downey also needs to regain the confidence in his offense and be a threat to score.

Georgetown will try to wear down the Bearcats with their Princeton-style offense and make them defend their cuts and backdoor looks for long periods of time. I think both teams will be putting similar talent on the floor for much of the game which will keep me very interested in how this game plays out.

Georgetown, with their conference schedule, seems to be a team possibly in the driver's seat for the 4th bye come conference tournament time. These are home games they need to keep focused and not fall into an offensive slump like they did last year. For the Bearcats, nothing will come easy in the conference this year with their schedule and they need play at a high level every night in games they have a chance to win. They have overcome a lot of adversity this season and they need to again. The injury to Armien Kirkland seems to have really been the straw to break their backs, but stealing a win here with South Florida coming up next could get them rolling again.

However, winning on the road in this conference will not be an easy chore...

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 68 Cincinnati 64

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Notre Dame

January 24, 2006

January 24, 2006


Georgetown, fresh off their huge upset of Duke at the MCI Center on Saturday will have to come back to earth a bit and be ready to head out to South Bend to face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, who dropped another close game, losing 67-65 to Marquette on the road on Friday night.

Here are some of the pre-game articles from around the net we have found:

Hot Hoyas Provide Tough Test for Irish (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette).
Small Roles for Big Men? (South Bend Tribune)
After Big Win, Hoyas Seek Another (Washington Post)
Ranked Hoyas Face Test With Irish.

For our preview and prediction on the game, click below!

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Georgetown enters tonights game a 2-pt underdogs on the road, playing as a ranked team as they find themselves #21 in the AP poll. The Hoyas are 3-2 in the Big East and face a reeling Irish team that finds themselves just 1-4 in the Big East, losing games by 3 (in 2 OT), 6, 5 and 2 pts. If there ever was a team in need of a break to go their way, it is the Irish. Both teams split a pair of games last season, winning on each other's home court.

Last week, we saw Georgetown struggle mightily in their game prior to facing Duke, barely escaping with a win over South Florida, 50-47, on their home floor. Tonight, we see how they bounce back from the emotional high they have been on and all the additional national attention after knocking off the previously unbeaten Blue Devils of the rival ACC.

For Notre Dame, they have to be chomping at the bit to get a win in this spot. The added exposure on the Hoyas should be something that will play into their minds as they want to show the basketball world that they are not to be forgotton yet.

However, this looks to be a very tough match-up for Notre Dame. The Hoyas run a Princeton-style offense forcing the opposition to play defense for longer periods of time, something Notre Dame has usually shown a disinterest in. Also, a front line of Brandon Bowman, Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert is both bigger and more athletic than anything the Irish can put on the floor. Georgetown also has the ability to bring in some instant offense off the bench with Darrel Owens.

So, how can Notre Dame win this game? Well, the Irish can shoot and will have up to four players on the floor at one time (Chris Quinn, Kyle McAlarney, Colin Falls and Luke Zeller) that can hit shots from beyond the arc. They will need the three-ball working early and often tonight. The students are back at Notre Dame which should create a better home atmosphere tonight and Georgetown does have a tendency to go cold offensively at times. Notre Dame is due for a win and a good performance, I think it comes against a Georgtetown team that might be just a little flat tonight, allowing ND to get off to a good start. The Irish might be able to zone Georgetown and limit some of their advantages. It should be a game that comes down to the wire, the luck of the Irish finally prevails in this one.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Notre Dame 67 Georgetown 66

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: South Florida @ Georgetown

January 17, 2006


The inauguration of the South Florida Bulls into the Big East conference continues tonight as the 17-pt underdog Bulls travel to Washington DC to meet the Georgetown Hoyas. Georgetown returns home after a 1-2 road trip which saw them drop a pair of 7-pt decisions to West Virginia and Connecticut their last two games, following a win over St John's and they sit at 2-2 in the conference. The Bulls have dropped their first three Big East games and, after hanging tough with WVU and SU, were blitzed by St. John's at home last weekend, 68-49.

It will not get any easier tonight for the Bulls as they travel back up to Georgetown, still with only five healthy scholarship players. They have yet to crack 57 pts in the conference and Georgetown only allows 59 PPG, so points will be hard to come by once again for the Bulls. Georgetown will run their Princeton-style offense and grind it out against the Bulls all evening. With athleticism and a size advantage in the frontcourt with Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green and Brandon Bowman and the ability of their guards, Jonathan Wallace and Ashanti Cook, to make shots from the perimeter, the Bulls look to be outmanned thoroughly.

South Florida has shown a willingness to scrap, but the loss last weekend might have taken a little of that willingness out of them, especially if they find themselves down quickly again tonight. You can't help but feel sorry for all that has happened to USF this season, but, as soon as they start feeling sorry for themselves, they are going to get run over.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 73 South Florida 55

Leave your prediction in the comment section!!

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Connecticut

January 14, 2006

I think we are really getting an idea at how unforgiving this league is. Georgetown travels to NYC on Sunday, then to Morgantown on Wednesday and it is off to Hartford for a noon tip on Saturday, already the Hoyas' 7th road game of the season. they return home next week to host South Florida and Duke.

For Connecticut, they are coming off a home win over Cincinnati on Monday and will have a quick turnaround of their own as they travel to Syracuse for a Big Monday match-up after this one and also has Louisville on the road next weekend as well.

Last year these teams met once at Georgetown and once at Madison Square Garden in the Big East tournament with UConn winning both, 66-59 and 66-62. Both games were played in the range the Hoyas prefer, the 60's, and UConn battered them on the boards in each, but the deliberate style of play of Georgetown definitely kept Georgetown a tad out of sync.

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Georgetown does return everyone from last season, so they will try to bring the same game plan against UConn with a little better effort on the boards. Georgetown really has an excellent starting 5 with Darrel Owens adding some punch off the bench. With Brandon Bowman, Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert off the bench, the Hoyas can match-up with the Connecticut front line of Rudy Gay, Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong. However, the Hoyas really do not have any additional answers off the bench to keep getting bigger while UConn can bring in Jeff Adrien and Ed Nelson to the mix as well.

The backcourts are also intriguing. Georgetown starts Jonathan Wallace at the point in their motion-based Princeton offense while Connecticut has freshmen Craig Austrie manning the point. At the shooting guard, each team has their own enigmas in Ashanti Cook and Denham Brown. Each player shows flashes of being brilliant, but each senior also has a tendency to disappear for games or at important junctures. Obviously, with Rashard Anderson and Marcus Johnson behind him, Brown has more support and UConn can overcome a subpar performance from him. With Georgetown, they have Darrel Owens, but he is more of a wing G/F and freshmen Jesse Sapp, but Cook is usually a key ingredient to deciding Georgetown's fate in big games. Connecticut also has Marcus Williams, back from suspension and now battling mononucleosis, in the mix at PG, again, showing how much depth this UConn team has available. If he is healthy, he is likely to get the majority of time at the point and his passing was key in the decisive run on Monday.

Connecticut is going to try to force tempo and use their size and athletic ability to hit the boards hard. They feel good when they are putting up 70+ shots a game. On the other had, Georgetown is much more methodical and wants to force UConn to defend 25-30 seconds per possession and milk you into a half court game. In 14 games this season, Connecticut has attempted 907 field goals (65/game) while in 13 games, Georgetown has attempted 644 shots from the field (49.5/game). Not only has Connecticut made more FT's (259) than their opponents have attempted (250), but they make more per game (18.5) than Georgetown attempts a game (18.46).

Georgetown really had a chance at West Virginia as the Mountaineers could not put up a normal performance from beyond the arc, but they were beaten on the boards and lost a little bit of their composure late in the game. The grueling week of road games that began Sunday night is too much to overcome in this one with a deep Connecticut team that is still improving and working out the kinks while getting players back into the mix. If Georgetown can keep the game in the 60's, they will hang, but I expect them to slowly fade throughout the game with all the athletes Connecticut will throw at them.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 74 Georgetown 63


Leave your game prediction and thoughts in the comments!

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ West Virginia

Last year these two teams met and it was the end of a good run for one team and the start of a new beginning for the other. Georgetown had just defeated West Virginia 67-60 to move to 8-3 in the Big East (16-6) overall) while the loss dropped West Virginia to 4-7 in the conference and 14-8 overall. Georgetown lost their last five conference games and played out the string in the NIT while West Virginia won four of five remaining on the conference slate, made a run to the Big East Tournament championship game with three wins at Madison Square Garden and lost a berth in the Final Four in an overtime loss to Louisville in the Elite 8. Not too many people could have predicted such different fortunes for the two teams after that February 12th game of last season.

They meet again tonight, this time in Morgantown, for their first of two meetings in the Big East regular season. Both teams are off to 2-0 starts in the conference with Georgetown beating Providence at home and St. John's on the road while West Virginia won at South Florida and are coming off Sunday's big win at Villanova.

The Mountaineers open up as 5.5-pt favorites tonight against the Hoyas and at first glance, this looks to be a low number. However, Georgetown is a team that can match-up with Mountaineers because of their added versatility on offense and defense. Their normal line-up consists of Jonathan Wallace at the point with Ashanti Cook and Brandon Bowman at the wing positions and Jeff Green and 7'2 Roy Hibbers at the C position. Georgetown can very easily move Darrell Owens into the line-up and go smaller with Jeff Green defending WVU's 6'10 perimeter threat Kevin Pittsnogle and will actually match-up very well man to man up and down the line-up with this line-up.

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This will leave a key match-up in this game to be Brandon Bowman and Mike Gansey. Bowman is off to a slower than anticipated start this year, averaging about 12 PPG and 5 rebounds, numbers that are down from last year. Gansey is off to a 1st-team all-conference start averaging 19 PPG, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.5 steals a game. With Bowman and Green, the Hoyas should not be giving up too much to the stars of WVU at their respective positions, keeping the Hoyas right in this game.

Like WVU, Georgetown runs an offensive system that is tough to prepare for and it's success is largely based on their ability to hit from the 3-pt range. Neither team is really prone to high turnovers, but the Hoyas have gone through stretches where they can go cold from the field and turn it over. Each team is not particularly deep, with WVU predominately a 7-man rotation, with five seniors and the Hoyas also using a 7-man line-up, with three seniors, three sophomores and a freshmen (Jesse Sapp).

I feel this game will be a close game with Georgetown right in it from the beginning until the end. West Virginia might be a tad flat coming off their big win, but a rabid home crowd welcoming their Mountaineers back from the road should snap any cobwebs out of their heads. Their experience and ability to make shots at the end and not beat themselves will prevail tonight in a typical Big East tilt.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

West Virginia 69 Georgetown 66

Let's see your preditions in the comments section!

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Providence @ Georgetown

January 5, 2005

Georgetown enters Big East play this year at 8-2 and an RPI rank of 100, while 7-4 Providence finished their OOC schedule with an RPI of 78. The Pomeroy Computer predicts an 8-pt home win for the Hoyas.

I think this is going to be a very good test for both teams and they have similar players at the same positions, but very different styles of play and levels of experience.

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Georgetown and coach John Thompson III use a variation of the Princeton offense which utilizes all five plyers in movement and ball-handling. They have 5 players that average 8.7 PPG and 10.4 PPG and are led by 7'2 sophomore Roy Hibbert. Also along their front line is senior Brandon Bowman and sophmore Jeff Green. This trio will be a tough match-up for the young Friar front court. The Hoyas start senior Ashanti Cook and sophomore Jon Wallace in the backcourt and they use instant offense senior wing Darrel Owens off the bench. Freshmen Jesse Sapp is also an integral member of the backcourt rotation. Georgetown is still not very deep, but they have a decided depth and experience edge over the Friars.

Providence is a team that tries to outscore you to win. With their lack of depth all-around, they are not a very good rebounding or defensive team. Much of that also has to do with experience as six of the eight scholarship players left on their roster are either freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore Randall Hanke will be matched up against Roy Hibbert. Hanke shoots 72.6% from the field and averages 5.8 rebounds a contest. This is a match-up of sophomore big men I am very interested in seeing. Rugged Geoff McDermott will likely be matched up against sophomore Jeff Green. Providence could also slide Herbert Hill or Jonathan Kale into a power slot and move McDermott out on Bowman. Those four will be the frontcourt for the Friars tonight and this is a very good measuring stick for this group. Charles Burch, another sophomore, also will play on the wing. In the backcourt, Donnie McGrath, who averages 15 PPG, is the friar leader with freshmen Sharaud Curry, who plays the PG and fellow freshmen Weyinmi Efejuku is also in the mix at guard.

The Friars have faced a tough schedule (#28 rated RPI slate) to this point and have played on the road against Wichita St, Fairfield and Rhode Island and have also hosted Memphis and Florida. They have overcome some adversity with the defections of Dwight Brewington and Desean White and I really like some of the potential this team has. I see them hanging tough with Georgetown but experience on the defensive end with the Georgetown offense could lead to some breakdowns. I do not think they will be able to control the tempo of the game tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 72 Providence 62 (Early Vegas Line is Georgetown -12)

Please leave your game prediction in the comments section.


Here are the pregame stories from around the net:


Friars Ready to Put the Gloves On (Providence Journal)
With caution, Hoyas Start Big East (Washington Post)

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