Georgetown, Syracuse set to resume Big East rivalry

Saturday, February 16, 2008 Carrier Dome
Syracuse, NY

The last time we saw #8 Georgetown, the Hoyas escaped with a 55-53 victory on Monday night against the visiting Villanova Wildcats. A questionable foul call on Villanova guard Corey Stokes with 0.1 seconds left in the game, allowed Georgetown guard Jonathan Wallace to walk the length of the floor and drain two free throws, lifting the Hoyas to victory. Georgetown held Villanova to four second half fields goals (4-of-31) and 0-of-13 from 3-point range, but Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds single-handedly kept the Wildcats in it. Reynolds was the sole Wildcats to notch double figures in scoring, finishing with 24 points. While Georgetown was lucky to get past Villanova, the same, however, cannot be said for Syracuse.

South Florida shocked the Orange on Wednesday night 89-78, picking up just their second win in conference play this season. The Bulls ended their 10-game losing streak behind 57 percent shooting from the field and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. South Florida also helped their cause by getting to the free line 32 times, connecting on 26 attempts. The Bulls were led by the duo of Kentrell Gransberry and Dominique Jones, who scored 23 and 29 points respectively. Freshman Donte Greene led four Syracuse players in double figures in scoring with 17.

The Carrier Dome has given the visiting Hoyas problems as of late. Georgetown is just 1-7 in their last eight trips to Syracuse and the Hoyas haven’t defeated Syracuse twice in a season since 2001-02. Georgetown needed 45 minutes to outlast Syracuse earlier this season, besting the Orange 64-61 in overtime on Jan.21 . Center Roy Hibbert led the Hoyas with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Donte Greene had 17 and nine for Syracuse. Both players enter Saturday’s game as their team’s leading scorers. Hibbert leads Georgetown in scoring (13.2 ppg) and rebounds (6.8 rpg). Greene leads the Orange with 17.9 ppg and second in rebounding with 7.4 rpg.

The Hoyas still remain one of the top tier defensive teams in the country, holding opponents to 56.7 points per game. Despite the foul call at the end that went in favor of the Hoyas, their defensive effort was a main reason Georgetown pulled out the win. Georgetown held Villanova to a lousy 4-of-31 shooting from the field and 0-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half. Against the stalwart Hoya defense, Villanova went just 1-of-21 from the field in the remaining 12 minutes in the game.

Georgetown sits atop the Big East at 10-2, but Louisville is hot on their heels, just one game back of Georgetown at 9-2. Notre Dame and UConn are breathing down the Hoyas’ neck as well; both teams are 8-3 in the conference and 1 ½ games. All three of Georgetown’s losses this season have come on the road, with two of their three losses coming on Saturdays.

It’ll be the second rivalry game this week for Georgetown and the question is how much do the Hoyas have in the tank right now after two emotional, draining games against Louisville and Villanova? For Syracuse, they’ve fallen to ninth place in the Big East standings, and sit just one game ahead of DePaul and Seton Hall, both of which are 5-7. The Orange have dropped their last four games against ranked opponents. How will the Orange respond after a bad loss to South Florida? Pride will be at stake in the Carrier Dome for the Orange, while Georgetown will try to avoid losing in the Big East on consecutive Saturdays.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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