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