GEORGETOWN LOOKS FOR WIN IN SOUTH FLORIDA

February 18, 2009


The Georgetown slide continues as the Hoyas lost for the seventh time in eight games when they fell in overtime to Syracuse in the Dome last Saturday afternoon. While it looked like another lifeless performance as they trailed by 16 points with around 8 minutes left in the game, the Hoyas showed some life with a frantic rally that actually had a chance to win the game at the buzzer.

At 4-8 in the Big East and 13-10 overall, Georgetown can not afford any more slip ups along the way and with Marquette, Louisville and Villanova right in front of them on the schedule, this is a must-win game.

The Bulls have little to play for with a 3-9 conference record and an 8-16 overall mark. The Bulls could be motivated to win a fourth Big East game, which will be a new season best in their short Big East history. Earlier this month, they upset Marquette, 57-56, in the Sun Dome and will try and do the same to Georgetown tonight.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on tonight's match-up from the internet:

Hoyas seed Need to 'Relax and Play' (Washington Post)
Preview: USF vs. Georgetown (St. Petersburg Times)
Few Positives for Hoyas (Washington Times)


With the touhest strength of schedule rating in the nation and wins against UConn and Memphis on their resume, Georgetown remains very much in the mix for the NCAA Tournament despite their current location of 12th in the Big East standings. There is no denying the individual talent of Chris Wright, Greg Monroe, Austin Freeman, DaJuan Summers, etc on the Hoyas' roster, but their depth, size and inexperience has made things very tough in the deep, physical and mature Big East. Inconsistency was expected, but the highs have not come as often as the lows in conference play and some internal dysfunction which has spilled over at times has made this a trying season for the Hoyas.

There is still time to turn it around and it could begin tonight in South Florida. With some momentum of their comeback, even though it was a loss, against SU fresh in their minds, maybe just getting a win is a key step forward. Back-to-back home games on the short Saturday-Monday turnaround against Marquette and Louisville await the Hoyas, so getting some confidence with a win could put the the Hoyas in position to make one last run at the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulls are led by sophomore Dominique Jones and senior Jesus Verdejo. However, lack of depth upfront and overall Big East-level talent is still making life tough on the Bulls in this conference. The upset over Marquette was a great lift to their spirits, but the truth remains, USF is just 1-9 in the Big East against teams not-named DePaul. Maybe it is progress to know there is at least one team clearly below you (Rutgers might be as well), but the gap between the bottom of the conference and the rest of theleague remains a wide one.

Georgetown is a 6 1/2-point favorite on the road. While they are certainly the better team based on individual talent, the question is can co-exist together and accept roles that allow the team to become better. Tonight might be a case of taking out some frustrations, but in the games ahead, they have opportunity, but must come together much better.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 68
South Florida 58