BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: ST. JOHN'S @ GEORGETOWN

February 27, 2008


Georgetown looks to continue their quest for a Big East regular season championship and can not afford to slip up with Marquette and Louisville remaining on the schedule after tonight's meeting with St. John's.

For the Redstorm, another disappointing season winds down. After a three game winning streak provided some hope for this year and the future, SJU has lost four straight, scoring just 51 points a game and losing by an average margin of 18.5 PPG.

Here are the local media pregame stories and previews on the game:

Redstorm Can't Match Hoyas' Rise
Too Soon For St. John's to Quit on Norm Roberts (Staten Island Advance)
A Young Hoya Drives With a Steady Hand (Washington Post)
Georgetown is Next on Storm's Horizon (NY Post)

Goergetown and St. John's, longtime rivals and original cornerstone members of the Big East conference, met earlier this season in Madison Square Garden and the opposite directions both programs have moved in has never been so obvious. Georgetown, on the home floor of the Redstorm, handed SJU their worst Big East loss ever in a 74-42 defeat. The score was 41-14 at the half!

John Thompson III and Norm Roberts were hired to restore their programs' good names. Georgetown was in the Final Four last season, St. John's looks like their will miss the Big East Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons. Not the direction the SJU fans were hoping for.

Georgetown is a 17-pt favorite tonight, and again, I see St. John's struggling to score points against the Hoyas. Georgetown's defense stifled the Redstorm in the earlier meeting, holding them to 10 field goals in the entire game.

Offensively, Georgetown can come at you in many directions, Jesse Sapp is strong in the open floor, Jonathan Wallace can spot up and hit the three-pointer, DaJuan Summers is bursting with potential as an inside/out offensive threat and Big East Preseason Player of the Year Roy Hibbert mans the middle. Freshman Austin Freeman provides another new element to the mix as a scorer and off the bench comes Patrick Ewing Jr and Vernon Macklin, along with Jeremiah Rivers. The options to put the ball in the basket are endless.

For St. John's, they are not so lucky. Their offense basically starts and stops with Anthiny Mason Jr. Although, when Mason was injured, the 'Storm reeled off three straight wins, two with him unavailable and the first one with him limited because of injury. In his place, sophomore Larry Wright looked to regain some of the form that had people excited about him as a freshman and other players became more involved. However, they are in another swwon with a four-game losing streak and hardly competitive for LONG stretches in each game.

Again, Georgetown will score snough and St. John's will not. The Hoyas could very well be looking ahead to their tough close to the Big East schedule, but on their home floor, they should have an easy time with the Redstorm.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 74 St. John's 55

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: VILLANOVA @ GEORGETOWN

February 11, 2008

Not much time for Georgetown or Villanova to think about their games from Saturday as they are both back in action tonight as Big Monday on ESPN tips off at 7 PM at the Verizon Center.

Here are some of the local media stories on tonight's game:


Wallace Aims to Regain Touch (Washington Post)
Hoyas Troubles are all in Back (Washington Times)
Hibbert Savors His Final Georgetown Games (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Thompson III Has Flourished (Inquirer)


Georgetown got stuck in 'White-Out' conditions in Freedom Hall in the 2nd half of their game against Saturday night and they looked like a car wreck in the process, getting outscored 36-20 after intermission in their 59-51 loss to the Cards. The loss dropped the Hoyas' lead in the Big East standings to a mere 1/2 game over Notre Dame with Connecticut and Louisville closing fast.

Villanova stopped the bleeding from a 5-game losing streak, four of which were Big East games, and got a late three-pointer from Dwayne Anderson to edge Seton Hall 72-70. Villanova was coming off a low-point in their season, a 77-55 loss to city rival St. Joe's in the Palestra. That loss snapped their Big 5 win streak and put their season in serious jeopardy of going straight down the tubes.

The Wildcats responded with a needed victory and Anderson's shot, at least termporarily, saves their season. Now, they hit the road to face Georgetown to try and build on Saturday's win.

It is a tough task for the Wildcats. Georgetown brings a lot of size and experience, two traits that Villanova lacks completely. Villanova will try to counter with pressure and force the Hoyas to rely on three-point shooting. On the road, Georgetown has been susceptible to pressure and poor shooting nights against good teams, but at home, the Hoyas have yet to show that as a weakness.

Villanova will extend pressure and trap the Hoyas before falling back into a halfcourt zone defense. Last season when they needed a win early in conference play, the Wildcats completely stifled Georgetown in the Verizon Center with this gameplan. It was effective in tacking Roy Hibbert out of the game and the pressure really had Georgetown's guards struggling.

Georgetown is a 13-point favorite and that definitely seems like a very high number. Georgetown will want to slow the game, get into their offense and pound the ball inside to Hibbert and work outside from there. Villanova will try to force the tempo, but the Wildcats are not a great shooting team from the perimeter. Scottie Reynolds is struggling with his shot and his shot selection seems to be an area he struggles more with. I do not see a true point guard, although Corey Fisher is a big time talent, he and Reynolds are more offensively minded. Inside, Villanove will have a tough time scoring around the basket against Hibbert, Pat Ewing and Vernon Macklin.

Georgetown should win this game, win it comfortably, but the posted spread could be tough to cover.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 71 Villanova 60

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: GEORGETOWN @ LOUISVILLE

February 9, 2008



ESPN Primetime, live from Freedom Hall! It is going to be a full day of excitement and events for the Louisville fans as they prepare to welcome Georgetown Saturday night. This is the match-up of the Big East co-favorites from the preseason. Georgetown has lived up to their advanced billing, while Louisville has been a little slower in hitting their stride, but they have certainly showed signs of putting things together from time to time.

Georgetown has only lost one game in the Big East, at Pittsburgh, and sit at 9-1 with a six-game win streak. They have not always been impressive, but while every other team has been up and down and not immune to be blown out, the Hoyas remain in every game and doing enough to win them.

Georgetown is a team that shares the ball and runs effecient offensive sets. Roy Hibbert is their leader in the middle at 7'2. He might not look fancy on offense and often looks awkward, but he has learned to use every inch of his 7'2 frame to his advantage on both ends of the floor and is comfortable passing the ball on the perimeter to cutters. DaJuan Summers is still the player I am waiting on to take a giant leap forward in becoming one of the league's best, but the Georgetown system seems to allow everyone a fair share in the spoils.

This game features two excellent and deep frontcourts. Hibbert and Summers with Patrick Ewing Jr and Vernon Macklin off the bench face off against David Padgett and Earl Clark with Juan Palacious and Derrick Caracter off the bench for Louisville. If either unit can get an edge, it could tilt the game in favor of their team. With Padgett back in the line-up, Louisville is much more consistent and their offense flows better. They just need to stay away from falling in love with the perimeter shot.

Running the show for Louisville is Edgar Sosa. He needs to make sure the Cards get the ball inside, take his offense when it comes and manage the game. He is still learning the position of point guard for Rick Pitino and the learning curve has continued, but he is coming off his best performance of the season as the point guard in the win at Marquette. Jerry Smith is his backcourt mate and is one of the league's best three-point shooters. If Sosa concentrates on getting his teammates involved offensively in position to score, they will be tough to beat.

The Georgetown backcourt of Jesse Sapp and Jonathan Wallace is definitely under-appreciated by the masses, but they have both hit many BIG shots in BIG situations. They may not be the flashiest or the most exciting, but they are very effective. They understand where the Georgetown team excels and take their opportunities as they come to them.

At the wing, Louisville's best all-around player, Terrence Williams is matched up with promising Georgetown freshman Austin Freeman. Both players have good size and play an all-around game, but if Williams is hitting his shots, Louisville is VERY tough to beat. Freeman seems very close to completely busting out, he and Summers are a pair that could take Georgetown to another level down the stretch if they become more assertive.

Georgetown is definitely the most effective team in the Big East this season. Louisville is the team we are waiting to bust out. They have showed signs with big wins over Marquette and blowing out Rutgers like no other. However, they have had their shares of lapses too. Whenever your ready to jump on the Louisville to the Final Four bandwagon, they blow a tire. However, if Edgar Sosa relishes the role of playmaker, they could get this wagon moving quickly.

With a national audience and a jazzed Freedom Hall crowd, we look forward to seeing Louisville at their best and getting an impressive win over Georgetown.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 74 Georgetown 66

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SOUTH FLORIDA @ GEORGETOWN

February 5, 2008

One end of the conference meets the other tonight in the nation;s capitol as Georgetown, 8-1 in the Big East, hosts 1-8 South Florida.

Hoyas, Hibbert to Stay Focused on Lowly Bulls (Washington Times)
Hoyas Fans Have an Interest Rooting (Washington Post)

The Bulls have lost eight games in a row after opening conference play with a 23-point win over Rutgers. The Bulls looked to be improved as they had a few solid wins in the out of conference portion of their schedule, but they have been struggling in the Big East and have hit rock-bottom following their 72-58 home loss to St. John's on Saturday night.

Kentrell Gransberry and Dominique Jones have been the lone bright spots for the Bulls, but each have found life in the Big East to be tough. It does not get much easier when the opponent gameplans to stop you as the rest of the team continues to fail in stepping forward.

The Bulls have never won a conference road game in the Big East and beating the best team in the conference is a tall order for the 20-pt underdogs.

Georgetown is coming off a win over Seton Hall and will have to keep up their focus for the Bulls. The Hoyas are deeper, more experienced and better in every facet, but we have seen if you do not bring forth the effort night in and night out, you can be surprised in the Big East.

However, a surprise is something unexpected tonight. I think the Bulls will show some life, but the Hoyas are just too good for this to be any more competitive than seeing if Georgetown wins by 20 or more.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 78 South Florida 59

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SETON HALL @ GEORGETOWN

February 2, 2008



After losing their first three conference games, Seton Hall has ran off five straight wins and the snowball that Bobby Gonzalez is building is gaining in size and it begins to roll downhill.

Georgetown is also on a roll, winning their last four games, some in dramatic fashion, others, like Wednesday night's destruction of St. John's, with ease. The Hoyas have been the favorite in the conference from the beginning and take everyone's best shot. Only Pittsburgh was able to connect their shot and take down the Hoyas. Now, Seton Hall takes aim and will bring the effort as well.

The Pirates do have a quick backcourt that will look to pressure the Hoyas early and often. With Paul Gause back in the line-up, the Pirates can unleash Bobby Gonzalez's preferred style of attack with full court pressure from end to end. With Chris Wright out with a foot injury, the Georgetown backcourt is a little short on depth and this sort of game, if SHU can control the tempo, does not favor the Hoyas.

However, gaining control of that tempo is not easily down. The Hoyas are a model of offensive effeciency with Roy Hubbert in the paint and four other players on the floor capable of scoring in a variety of ways. Georgetown has an injury concern of their own as sophomore DaJuan Summers missed the game with St. John's with a foot injury. Against the Redstorm it did not matter and with Austin Freeman and Patrick Ewing available to step-up, the Hoyas should be ok if Summers is going to miss additional time. It is a blow, but Georgetown has an impressive stable of players.

Seton Hall will have to create offense off of their defense. They will need to score themselves and stop Georgetown to get into their tempo. That has been the difficult thing to do for Georgetown opponents. SHU is undersized with Brian Laing playing the position of power forward at 6'5 and in extreme mesaures, like OT agianst Rutgers, he finds himself as the tallest Pirate on the court on occassions. Freshman Jeremy Hazell has become the long-distance mad bomber and if he starts lighting it up, the Pirates feed off that energy.

Although I see leaps and bounds of improvement from the Pirates, this might be too tall of an order on the road at this stage. At the very least, this will be a tremendous learning opportunity and if the Pirates go in with that goal, they could steal a win, but more importantly, take a valuable experience into future games down the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 75 Seton Hall 66

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