The Big East grind rolls on Saturday as our #5 Louisville Cardinals (16-3, 4-2 Big East) travel to the nations capital to face the Georgetown Hoyas (13-4, 3-3 Big East). The Cards are hoping to end a two game losing streak and the Hoyas hope to continue their winning ways after they beat Notre Dame Monday. In that win, they held the Irish to their lowest point total since 1972.

John Thompson III’s Princeton offense has been inconsistent at times this season and the Hoyas have been an impossible team to figure out. They have had big wins and had one of their worst losses ever. The one constant for them has been their defense. Georgetown is long-armed and athletic and can really guard people. They are 11th in the nation in scoring defense at 56.3 points per game and 1st in scoring defense in the Big East at 57.7 points per game. They are 31st in the nation in field goal percentage defense holding their opponents to 38.5% a game and 5th in Big East in field goal percentage defense at 39%. They are 1st in Big East in rebounding defense at 30.7 per game. Kenpom has their Adj efficiency on defense at 86 ranked 10th. The Hoyas play a lot of man-to-man but will play some zone, largely because they have the length and athleticism to do it, and it takes away having to guard so many different actions, which helps a young team. Georgetown may not have any seniors, but the Hoyas do have talent and experience. Markel Starks and Nate Lubick, both juniors, give Thompson two returning starters. Otto Porter started eight games as a freshman and averaged 29.7 minutes per game. Jabril Trawick played in all of Georgetown’s 33 games at 11.4 minutes per game. A lot of the Hoyas success depends on Thompson’s 3 sophomores Porter, Trawick and center Mikael Hopkins.
The bad losses the Hoyas have suffered this season are because of their struggles on offense. The Hoyas rank nationally 256th with 64 points per game, 253rd with 33.2 rebounds per game, 60th with 15 assist per game and 47th in field goal percentage at 46% a game. Kenpom has the Adj efficiency on offense at 101.3 ranked 145. He has them ranked 43 overall. The Hoyas current RPI is 39 and they are currently ranked 7th in the Big East.

In-conference offense: 3pt-36.3%, 2pt-45.8%, FT-68.5%
In-conference defense: Turnovers-10pg, Steals-5.3pg, Blocks-3.3pg

Coach John Thompson III: “Without a doubt, this is a younger team,” “But if this is possible, we’re young but experienced. Our sophomores and juniors have played significant minutes in big-time games and big-time atmospheres. At times, we had four freshmen on the court at the same time. We got a lot out of our younger players in last year. We’re going to count on them even more this year.”

The Hoyas Players:

-Projected Starters

Nate Lubick JR (7.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.8 apg) 6-8 F is an excellent passer who’s also a capable rebounder at both ends of the floor. While there are more athletic and offensively gifted forwards on the Georgetown roster, Lubick remains a key factor in the frontcourt because of his toughness and work ethic. His experience as a returning starter is essential to this team. He is shooting 62% from the field and 72% from the free throw line.

Mikael Hopkins SOPH (6.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.4 apg) 6-9 F arrived in DC last year with much recruiting hype and has all the tools to be a threat on the interior. He is just inconsistent at times. He is a decent shot blocker and ranks 10th in the Big East in that Stat. And is also a decent rebounder. He is shooting 37% from the field and 57% from the free throw line.

Markel Starks JR (11.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.8 apg) 6-1 G is very crafty for his size and is a good scorer who is also becoming a capable playmaker. He ranks 14th in the Big East at 3.5 assist per game and ranks 11th in assist/turnover ratio at 1.9. He is shooting 45% from the field, 41% from 3 point line and 84% from free throw line.

Otto Porter Jr. SOPH (14.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.6 apg) 6-8 F is one of the guys that coach Pitino will game plan for and In my opinion is the best player on the floor for the Hoyas. We won’t play against many better this season. He ranks 6th in the Big East in scoring at 16.8 ppg, 5th in rebounding at 7.7 pg, 12th in field goal at 52%, 5th in 3 point Field goal at 47%, and is 2nd in defensive rebounding behind Gorgui at 6.5 per game. He is also one of the 25 players remaining on the list for the Wooden Award with our Russ Smith.

Jabril Trawick SOPH (5.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.5 apg) 6-5 G “He brings a toughness to our team,” Thompson said. “He’s willed his way through many situations. He’s got a competitive, doggedness nature.” He is shooting 46% from the field, 32% from the 3 point line, and 68% from the free throw line.

-Bench

Aaron Bowen SOPH (1.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.3 apg) 6-6 F only plays about 7 minutes a game. He is shooting 42% from the field and 40% from the 3 point line.

Moses Ayegba JR (1.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.6 apg) 6-9 C redshirted last season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee in August. He provides some size off the bench and rebounding averaging 2.3 a game. He is shooting 47% from the field and 45% from the free throw line.

D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera FR (6.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg) 6-3 G is a shooting guard from Indianapolis by way of Oak Hill Academy, he turned down an impressive list of suitors (including Michigan State, Louisville, Florida, and Memphis) in order to say yes to the Hoyas. ESPN rated him a four-star recruit and the No. 10 shooting guard in the country, but he’s got a lead-guard mentality. He is a scoring guard who likes to get his team involved. He is shooting 38% from the field, 32% from the 3 point line and 72% from the free throw line.

Last year the Cards were ranked in the top 5 when the Hoyas came to the Yum Center and beat them for the third straight time. And Georgetown is the only team in the Big East that owns a winning record against Rick Pitino. The Cards will be looking to avoid losing four in a row to the Hoyas and losing their third straight game in Big East play. The trend in league play this season has been that the teams with their backs against the wall have pulled out the victory. I really hope that trend continues Saturday but the Cards are going to have to get back to doing the things they do best which includes scoring points in transition, hitting free throws and getting penetration in the lane to find guys for easy shots. Those things won’t be easy against a very good Georgetown interior defense but hopefully the Cards depth and defensive intensity will wear on them. Don’t think it’s gonna be easy to turn the losing slide on the road but I expect our guys to get it done.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 69 Georgetown 61