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It’s a quick turnaround for Villanova and Georgetown, as both teams were in action on Saturday. Villanova desperately snapped a five-game losing streak, beating Seton Hall 72-70, while the Hoyas took one on the chin in Freedom Hall, falling to Louisville 59-51. The two Big East rivals square off on Big Monday, Feb. 10 th at 7 p.m. Villanova (14-8, 4-6) will look to build of their victory over Seton Hall when they enter the Verizon Center to host Big East leading Georgetown. The Wildcats have enjoyed a lot of success playing at the Verizon Center against the Hoyas. Villanova has never lost in the Verizon Center, boasting a 6-0 record all-time, where they’ve held Georgetown under the 70-point plateau each time. The Wildcats have not lost on the road to Georgetown in over 10 years, their last defeat coming on Jan.27, 1997. Villanova lost to Georgetown on that day, 78-67, back when the Hoyas played their home games in the US Air Arena.
Georgetown (19-3, 9-2) returns home after a tough loss to Louisville in primetime on Saturday night. Despite taking an eight-point lead into halftime, 31-23, Louisville cranked up the defensive intensity and held the Hoyas to just 20 second half points. Uncharacteristically, the Hoyas fired away 22 times from 3-point range, hitting on only four. The loss ended the Hoyas’ six-game winning streak. Center Roy Hibbert and guard Austin Freeman led Georgetown with 14 points apiece, but the trio of DaJuan Summers, Jessie Sapp and Jonathan Wallace combined for only 14 points on a miserable 6-of-24 shooting. The Hoyas had been winners of 11 of their last 12, and while they suffered only their second loss in Big East play on Saturday, defensively Georgetown still remains tops in the Big East and one of the best in the nation. The Hoyas are allowing their opponents to shoot on 35.8 percent (best in the country), and rank fourth in scoring defense, giving up 56.8 points per game. Georgetown has allowed 70 or more points just one time this season, coming in the loss to Memphis just before Christmas. The heroics for Villanova on Saturday came from an unlikely source, in the form of Dwayne Anderson. Anderson’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds to play lifted the Wildcats over Seton Hall 72-70, snapping the Wildcats’ five-game skid in the process. Anderson made his first career college start one to remember, finishing career highs in points (13) and minutes played (36). Forward Dante Cunningham scored 21 points, tying his career high. The Wildcats’ poor defense largely contributed to Villanova’s recent slide. Villanova allowed their previous five opponents to average just under 81 points per game (80.6) and shoot nearly 51 percent from the field (50.8). Thought it was the sixth time in the last seven games Villanova has given up 70 or more points, their defense drastically improved, especially in the second half. The Wildcats held Seton Hall to 29 second-half points on just nine field goals, holding the Pirates to 28 percent shooting. The road has not been kind to Big East teams this season. Road teams are just 30-56 this season. Villanova is 1-4 on the road in the Big East, defeating Syracuse 81-71 on Jan.19 th. Meanwhile, Georgetown is perfect at home, 12-0, and 5-0 against Big East teams.
by Frank Minniti
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