BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Syracuse

February 26, 2007


It is Big Monday, late in February and Georgetown travels to Syracuse for a meaningful Big East Conference showdown. There is even a #33 on the court for Georgetown by the name of Ewing and a Thompson on the sideline. While it may not be for the Big East championship, the Syracuse Orange would love nothing better to send off their four seniors with a memorable final home game and put any clinching victory for Georgetown on hold for a few days.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet:


SU Looks to Extend Streak (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
Tough Road Schedule Steels Georgetown (Washington Post)
Hoyas, Orange on Tap Tonight (Washington Times)
Senior Moments (Syracuse Post-Standard)
More Work Ahead for SU (Syracuse Post-Standard)


Georgetown is coming off a hard-fought 61-53 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon that pushed the Hoyas win streak to 11 games and moved them into sole possession of 1st place in the conference. Georgetown rallied from an 8-pt defecit in the last 12 minutes and outscored Pitt 12-4 in the last 3 and a half minutes to earn the win. Now, they have to re-focus and head to Syracuse where the Orange will be waiting.

Syracuse has won four in a row to move to 9-5 in the Big East. The Orange know that a win tonight will help ease any Selection Sunday concerns. It also marks the final home game for Demetris Nichols, Darryl Watkins, Terrence Roberts and Matt Gorman. The Syracuse senior class might have not always lived up to expectations, but they have been putting together a solid run at the end of the season and sending the Dome crowd into a frenzy in their last home game would be an appropriate send-off.

Georgetown will test the Syracuse frontcourt. The Orange have the height and athletic ability to match up with Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green, but Georgetown is deeper with Vernon Macklin and Patrick Ewing jr off the bench. Syracuse will look to continue their solid shooting, especially with Nichols, but the Orange have been getting a big lift from Andy Rautins beyond the arc. The sophomore scored 19 at Providence, hitting five of nine from beyond the arc, and is averaging over 15 PPG in this stretch. If he is providing Syracuse with an outside compliment to Nichols, allowing Eric Devendorf to slash to the hoop, Syracuse could be tough.

Georgetown is a 3.5-pt favorite over the Orange, but their 11-game win streak will certainly be put to the test tonight. In fact, I think it comes to an end as this is a tough spot for Georgetown to pick themselves back up as emotionally as they were on Saturday against a team that will be charged up from the get-go.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 67 Georgetown 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Cincinnati

February 21, 2007


Last season in the Big East, the upset of the year was a season-ending win by South Florida over Georgetown, costing the Hoyas a bye in the Big East Conference Tournament. This year the Hoyas will look to avoid a similar fate when they travel to meet last-place Cincinnati and keep on track for a conference title showdown this Saturday with Pittsburgh.

For the Bearcats, it has been a long season. A lack of depth, experience and talent have made winning a near impossible chore for Mick Cronin's squad. Even when they look poised to pull out a victory, they find a different way to let it slip away.

Here are some pregame stories and previews around the internet on tonight's game:


UC Meets Hoyas Again (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Hibbert Looms Large for Hoyas (Cincinnati Post)
Streaking Hoyas Are Aware of Trap (Washington Post)


It would be perfectly natural for the Georgetown Hoyas to be peeking ahead just a little bit. Afterall, as winners of nine straight games, Georgetown has put themselves in position to play for the conference title this coming Saturday when Pittsburgh visits the Verizon Center for a nationally televised match-up. Pitt was also the last team to beat the Hoyas this year.

Standing in their way, however, is a trip to Cincinnati to meet the struggling Bearcats, losers of seven straight contests. At times, Cincinnati can look pretty good. They have an impressive collection of athletes, but lack depth, size and shooting touch. However, costing them a couple wins has also been a lack of basketball acumen late in games. They will have to be near perfect tonight to get a win, even if Georgetown is looking past them just a bit.

In their previous meeting, Georgetown cruised to an 82-67 win that was kept relatively respectable by the fact that Cincinnati shot 14-24 from 3-pt range. However, Georgetown has too much size inside with Jeff Green (17 pts) and Roy Hibbert (26 pts) combining for 43 points in the first meeting and their ability to bring Patrick Ewing and Vernon Mackling off the bench. No mater how lethargic Georgetown might be, they have such an inside advantage that rebounds and easy hoops inside will be there whenever they want it tonight.

Georgetown is an 11.5-pt road favorite and the only question will be on their focus. After nine straight wins, including an emotional victory at Villanova on Saturday, this game is in a tough spot with Pittsburgh on the horizon, so the Hoyas are due for a flat performance, but that should be good enough for the win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 71 Cincinnati 61


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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Georgetown

February 17, 2007


The Big East tips off Saturday's action with a marquee match-up in Philadelphia when the Georgetown Hoyas make the short trip to meet the Villanova Wildcats. A win on Saturday will move Georgetown into a tie with Pittsburgh for the conference lead with four games to play. Villanova is still trying to solidify their standing in the conference this season and a win on Saturday goes a long way in doing so.

These two teams met in January at Georgetown and Villanova avoided an 0-3 conference start by picking up a very important 56-52 win on the road. The Wildcats forced 21 Hoya turnovers in the contest by extending pressure all over the court. Georgetown has a very thin backcourt and their Princeton-style offense is not designed to run in a hurry, and forcing Georgetown to expend time and energy breaking the press was a key factor in the Hoyas never getting their offense on track in the contest. Despite Mike Nardi and Curtis Sumpter combining to shoot 3-15, Villanova was victorious. On the Georgetown side, the turnovers were the killer, but Roy Hibbert also did not attempt a shot from the field in the entire game and scored hus only two points (2-6) at the foul line. A stat-line of 2 pts and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes by the 7'2 center will not get it done for Georgetown.

In the rematch, the Wildcats will look to use the same formula. They will press and trap Georgetown at every chance they can. Playing at home, Mike Nardi and Curtis Sumpter are nearly guaranteed to have much better games, but will they be able to keep Hibbert from scoring opportunities as well as last time?

After losing to Villanova, the Hoyas turned around and dropped a game to Pittsburgh. However, since then, Georgetown has won eight straight game by an average score of 73-57. Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green have been playing like the two All-American candidates they were hyped to be in the preseason. The effecient Hoyas waste little opportunity on the offensive end and they have been executing at peak capacity in recent weeks. They will look to continue to feed the ball to Hibbert and run more and more of the offense through Green, opening up opportunities for Jonathan Wallace and DeJuan Summers to hurt you as well.

Right now the Hoyas are rolling. I do think Villanova is a quality team, but they will be hard-pressed slowing the Georgetown train as it rolls through Philadelphia on Saturday.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 72 Villanova 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: West Virginia @ Georgetown

February 12, 2007



Georgetown and West Virginia both scored big wins on Saturday, now they must put those games behind them in a hury and concentrate on the task at hand, beating the other at their own game!

On Saturday, Georgetown took sole possession of 2nd place and remained right on the heels of the Pittsburgh Panthers with a 76-58 win at home against Marquette. On the afternoon that Georgetown celebrated 100 years of intercollegient college basketball, Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green made their cases to be included in their next celebration by combining for 47 points to outshine the Golden Eagles backcourt.

West Virginia earned a huge out of conference victory as they upset 2nd-ranked UCLA in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are locked in a tight battle for the 4th and final Big East Tournament bye with Louisville and others, so getting their attention back to their conference situation is imperative quickly.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Mountaineers Visit Red-Hot Hoyas Tonight (Charleston Gazette)
Hibbert, Green Key to Hoyas Revival (Washington Times)
Hoyas Combination is Finally Revealed (Washington Post)
Celbration Time is Over for Mountaineer Men (Register-Herald)


To read our brief preview of the game and to see the NBE Blogger's prediction on the outcome, click 'Read More' below. Also, we'd love to see the reader's thoughts and predictions on the game in the comments, so feel free to add your toughts!




Preparing for Georgetown and West Virginia usually takes several days, however, both Georgetown and West Virginia will have slightly more than a day to prepare for each other as they both need to put the good feelings of Saturday behind them and get back to the task at hand.

West Virginia is well known for their 1-3-1 trapping zone defense. They also spread the floor on offense and work for the open 3-pter or backdoor cut. They just about ignore any type of post offense or attempt to rebound and concentrates on creating turnovers and scoring from beyond the arc.

Georgetown uses a Princeton-style offense that shortens the game, usually limiting each contest to 55 possessions, or in the neighborhood thereof. With Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green towering over the West Virginia frontline, how the backcourt duo of Jesse Sapp and Jonathan Wallace nadle the 1-3-1 traps will determine how effecient the Hoya offensive attack is. If they can get the ball to Hibbert or Green inside, it will likely result in a basket nearly everytime. Even if they are forced to settle for the perimeter shot, the Hoyas have a major advantage on the glass to clean up the miss and score on the putbacks.

West Virginia's reliance on the 3-pt shot makes this game very interesting. With Georgetown looking to shorten the game, just a few 3's here and there can turn this game quickly. At times, WVU will have all five players on the floor behind the 3-pt arc and all very capable of making the shot. Frank Young and Alex Ruoff are the most dangerous shooters, but Darris Nichols, Dasean Butler and Jamie Smalligan are also dangerous shooters. With the threats on the perimeter, they can pull the Georgetown defense away from the basket and try to run Butler and others of screens for backdoor baskets. If Georgetown goes to zone, it could help the WVU shooters get more comfortable on the perimeter. The 3-pt shot is the great equalizer in college basketball and WVU uses it fully to their advantage.

Georgetown is a 9.5-pt favorite at home and they have the size and the experience to get this win. West Virginia will likely bang home some 3's and keep this game interesting with some well-timed long range shots, but Georgetown has Hibbert and Green to turn to when they need a basket, and when they turn to them, it should be nearly automatic against the WVU zone.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 73 West Virginia 64

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Marquette @ Georgetown

February 10, 2007


The highlight of this weekend's Big East conference schedule is a match-up of two of the current three contenders for the Big East regular season crown as Georgetown will host Marquette. It will be a historic day in Georgetown basketball history as the University celebrates its 100th season of intercollegiate basketball. On Saturday, Feb. 9, 1907, Georgetown defeated Virginia 22-11 to begin its basketball tradition. This weekend's festivities include the unveling of the all-century team for Georgetown University on Saturday.

Marquette enters the game on an eight-game win streak that has catapulted the Golden Eagles into contention, after starting conference play 0-2. Marquette is led by their dynamic guard trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews, which causes match-up problems for many teams. Georgetown has a thin backcourt, usually playing just three guards in their entire rotation with Jonathan Wallace and Jesse Sapp as the starters and freshman Jeremiah Rivers off the bench. They will certainly be put to the test early and often against the physical pressure on defense and athletic attack on the offensive end of the Golden Eagles backcourt.

Georgetown will look to counter Marquette's backcourt edge by getting the game into their pace and usually their frontcourt size advantage and turn the game into a half-court game. Georgetown would rather play at a pace limiting possessions to the 50'sm while Marquette wants to get out and pick-up the pace and play a game that has about 70 possessions total. That is a big difference and whichever team is successful should be the winning team.

Georgetown will use their zone defense and Princeton-style offense to but the breaks on Marquette's attack. Marquette will likely have to go zone as well as Georgetown will start 7'2 Roy Hibbert, 6'9 Jeff Green and 6'8 DaJuan Summers along their frontline. Ousmane Barro is the only player for Marquette likely to match-up inside as they are nearly 100% reliant on the 3-guard line-up and Lazar Hayward and Dan Fitzgerald are perimeter-minded '4' men.

Usually in college basketball, guards win. This is a classic case of two teams with nearly completely opposite strengths trying to impose their style on the game. Whoever is successful should win...with both teams likely to go zone, that shoudl lead to a slower game...so, I will go with the home team looking for the slower pace to be successful.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 69 Marquette 61

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ Louisville

February 7, 2007


The Georgetown Hoyas try to keep pace with the leaders as they travel to Louisville to meet Rick Pitino and the Cardinals. Louisville is also trying to stay among the league leaders and position themselves for a Big East Tournament bye. On a night that the court at Freedom Hall will be renamed for Denny Crum, it should be a great atmosphere for an upper-division Big East showdown.


Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Cold Cards Seek Shooting (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Pitino, Hoyas Go Way Back (Lexington Herald-Leader)
For U of L Fans, One Day Brings Two Big Events (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Finally Healthy, Louisville Feeling Better About Itself (Washington Post)
At Peace in His Father's Shadow (Washington Times)
Clark Finding His Comfort Zone (Louisville Courier-Journal)
'Denny Crum Court' Ceremony Tonight (Courier-Journal)


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW



It should be an emotionally charged Louisville crowd tonight as they rename the court at storied Freedom Hall in honor of former head coach Denny Crum. Denny Crum Court will be unveiled this evening as the Cardinals welcome in the Georgetown Hoyas in a Big East conference match-up. Both teams have a 1st round bye in he Big East conference tournament firmly in their sites and a win tonight with each having a date with Pittsburgh in the near future could set them up to challenge for Big East supremecy. There is a lot riding on this game.

The oddsmakers have made this a 'pick-em' game and the Pomeroy Computer rankings give a slight edge to the Hoyas. Louisville has been playing an aggressive style of extended defense that has given Georgetown trouble at times this year. Villanova used a similar defense to stymie the Georgetown attack for a victory. The Hoyas are thin in the backcourt and if you force them to take 10-15 seconds to get set in their offense you take away a lot of the effectiveness of the Princeton-style offense Georgetown will utilize.

While Louisville's defense has been a strength, it will definitely be challenged tonight as Georgetown has been the most effecient offense in Big East play. The hoyas have a mix of scoring from the perimeter and inside and they are perfectly comfortable playing a game in the high 50's because that is where their pace of play usually puts the game. With a frontline of Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green and DaJuan Summers they have the size to give Louisville trouble on the boards and matching up on defense. The Cardinals will look to rotate their four guards (Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith, Brandon Jenkins and Andre McGee) to keep the pressure on the Georgetown backcourt and hope to wear out Jonathan Wallace and Jesse Sapp.

Louisville needs to shoot better, it is plain and simple. Georgetown will shorten the game with long possessions on offense and tough defense, changing from man to man and match-up zone to give the Cards different looks. Louisville will have a hard time getting Juan Palacios and David Padgett established against the size of the Hoyas, but they will need to be persistent in attempting so they can open up the perimeter for their guards to get comfortable and for Terrence Williams to find lanes to the rim.

This should be an excellent game. Georgetown is on quite a run, winning their last five games, although none have come against teams .500 or better in the conference. Louisville has played themselves back into contention winning six of their last eight, with home wins over Providence and Syracuse the best of the bunch. So, both teams are looking for a win to hang their hat on.

I thinkg Georgetown is just a little tougher and has the better shooting touch as a team and gets it down, in a tight one, on the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 64 Louisville 60

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Georgetown @ St. John's

February 1, 2007

The last two teams from the upperhalf of the Big East conference to wander into Madison Square Garden were sent home with a 'L' courtesy of the St. John's Redstorm. St. John's will look to increase their home winning streak to three games tonight when the Georgetown Hoyas come to New York City. Georgetown has won four in a row and they begin a two-game road trip tonight in NYC which will also include a trip to Louisville this weekend.

Here are the pregame stories and previews on tonight's game we have found on the internet this morning:



Hoyas Have Been Handling With Care (Washington Post)
Ewing Jr. Follows Dad's Path to Garden (NY Times)
Hill's Career Could Be Done (Newsday)
Hill May Be Done at SJU (NY Post)
Knee Troubles Shut Down Hill (NY Daily News)

Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


It is a tough time for St. John's fans today as the news is out that senior guard Daryll Hill will be sidelined for up to 4-6 weeks to try and rehab his injured knee. The best case scenario looks like he might be available for the Big East Tournament if the Redstorm can qualify, but the level of impact he would have is unknown. Hill was a true NYC legend, earning the nickname 'Showtime' for his play in the Rucker Park summer league and averaged 20 PPG as a sophomore for the depleted Redstorm. A bothersome knee has hindered his play the past two seasons and has forced him to shut it down for the time being.

Without Hill, the Redstorm will have to get more production from Larry Wright and Ricky Torres and hope to see consistent offense from Avery Patterson at the 2-guard. Eugene Lawrence is a tough point guard, but their backcourt offense just has not come around with a hobbled Hill. Tonight they have to score against one of the toughest defenses in the country. Georgetown counters St. John's existing strength with size and athletic ability in the frontcourt and will make it very hard for St. John's to score.

On offense, the Hoyas will look to get the ball inside to Roy Hibbert in position to score and run their backdoor cuts from there. If St. John's goes to zone, Jeff Green and Dajuan Summers can step away from the paint and hit out to the 3-pt range and crash the boards with Hibbert. Georgetown has too many options for St. John's to keep up offensively.

Georgetown is a 7.5-pt favorite and a predicted 10-pt winner by the Pomeroy Computer. Georgetown should be able to cover that number.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 65 St. John's 54

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