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Game 12 - Georgetown (7-4) @ Butler (9-2)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: December 19, 2023
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN
How to Watch: FS1
Matchup History: All-time series is tied 11-11
Last Meeting: Georgetown def. Butler 68-62 on 2/19/23
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Georgetown +11.5
Over/Under: 152
Prediction: Georgetown 71, Butler 83
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Head Coach: Ed Cooley (1st season, 7-4 record at Georgetown)
Record: 7-4 (0-0, T-7th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Won @ Notre Dame 72-68 in OT on 12/16/23
Player to Watch: Rowan Brumbaugh
The Georgetown Hoyas open up Big East play on Tuesday night as Ed Cooley’s team heads to Indianapolis to take on Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
It’s the site of one of two conference wins the Hoyas secured a season ago. In fact, Georgetown has just two Big East wins in its last 41 conference tilts.
Cooley was brought in as head coach to change things. He led his team to a 7-4 non-conference record, with the most impressive win on Saturday on the road against Notre Dame, already improving from the Hoyas 5-6 noncon campaign a season ago under Patrick Ewing.
In year one, it’ll be hard for Georgetown to compete nightly in the conference. However, a measuring stick for success is centered around Cooley’s ability to win games in the Big East right away.
Even if Georgetown wins, say, six Big East games this year; what a tremendous improvement that would be from the last two seasons.
It’s a very tough start for the Hoyas, who play back-to-back on the road to open conference play against Butler and 6th ranked Marquette before the Big East home opener against 12th ranked Creighton.
Fortunately, the Hoyas appear to have a young core they can rely on. Fellow freshmen Drew Fielder and Rowan Brumbaugh had career highs against Notre Dame while the team's leading scorer, Jayden Epps, missed both games last week due to illness.
Brumbaugh earned the Big East Freshman of the Week award for his efforts.
If Cooley can keep the young core together and healthy, then this Hoya group will at the very least be gaining tangible experience in what is one of, if not the best, conference in the nation.
Head Coach: Thad Matta (2nd season, 47-28 record at Butler)
Record: 9-2 (0-0, 2nd in Big East)
Last Time Out: Won vs. Saginaw 96-70 on 12/15/23
Player to Watch: Posh Alexander
Through the opening six weeks of the college basketball season in the Big East Conference, Butler has been the biggest surprise.
Second-year Head Coach Thad Matta led the Bulldogs to a 9-2 non-conference record and has won six straight games entering Big East play.
This Butler group struggled a bit early in the year and has lost its two toughest games on the schedule, a 74-54 defeat at Michigan State and a 91-86 loss to Florida Atlantic on a neutral floor.
Over the past month, however, this team has proven itself, having won multiple overtime games during its six game winning streak entering Tuesday.
A big reason why the Bulldogs have been shining is the play of the backcourt, led by Pierre Brooks and Posh Alexander.
Brooks has scored in double-figures in every game this year, pouring in a season-high 26 in the win over Penn State on November 24.
Meanwhile, Alexander has been one of the most important acquisitions for any Big East team. The 6’0’’ senior out of Brooklyn spent the first three years of his collegiate career with fellow conference foe St. John’s and has averaged over 10 PPG every season.
So far in 2023 for Butler, Alexander has been terrific, with his best game by far coming against Texas Tech in the Bulldogs thrilling 103-95 win in overtime. In the game, Alexander had a triple-double, scoring 10 points, hauling in 10 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists while also securing 3 steals.
It’s only been 11 games, and they haven’t played a Big East game yet, but it looks like Thad Matta has a group that could get Butler back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
It’d go a long way to start off the conference campaign by avenging the team's most embarrassing loss from a season ago, and take down Georgetown at Hinkle.