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