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Game 24 - Georgetown (6-17) vs. #24 UConn (17-6)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: February 4, 2023
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena - Washington, DC
How to Watch: Fox Sports 1
Matchup History: Georgetown leads all-time series 36-35
Last Meeting: #2 UConn def. Georgetown 84-73 on 12/20/22
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Georgetown +13
Over/Under: 146.5
Prediction: Georgetown 71, UConn 80
Official Game Notes: HERE
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Head Coach: Patrick Ewing (6th season, 74-101 record at Georgetown)
Record: 6-17 (1-11, 11th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost vs. Creighton 63-53 on 2/1
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Jay Heath
Georgetown had an 8 point lead in the second half when UConn was ranked #2 in the country back on December 20, before eventually losing by double-digits.
Since then, the Huskies have lost six of ten games and have become one of the more inconsistent teams in the conference.
Pegged by many, myself included, as the best team in the conference in late December, UConn has fallen to sixth in the Big East and is significantly less formidable than previously thought.
Since the last meeting, Georgetown has snapped its record-breaking conference losing streak, which has killed the biggest storyline of the season.
Unless the Hoyas can somehow string together several wins in the final month of the season, they’ll wind up playing in the opening round of the Big East tournament once again. This reality feels unavoidable, so how should Georgetown view its final month of the regular season if it all comes down to the conference tournament either way?
I truly believe Georgetown can play with anyone in the conference. They led UConn and Villanova on the road in the second half and are finally getting healthy, with the absences of Brandon Murray and Jay Heath no longer an issue.
For me, Head Coach Patrick Ewing can still save his job; the only way he can is to string together another magical run in Madison Square Garden the second weekend in March, a run that would be one of the most improbable in college basketball history.
Simple, right?
Head Coach: Dan Hurley (5th season, 90-53 record at UConn)
Record: 17-6 (6-6, 6th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Won @ DePaul 90-76 on 1/31
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Adama Sanogo
UConn has the defensive prowess to do to Georgetown what Creighton did on Wednesday. Completely shut down the Hoyas, specifically the top two scorers in Brandon Murray and Primo Spears, who were held to 21 points combined on 9-32 shooting.
The Huskies are top 60 in the country in points allowed per game, yet allowed 73 from Georgetown in the first meeting. That’ll likely have to tighten up on Saturday for UConn to give its fans a more relaxing afternoon.
Here’s the biggest knock on UConn: They haven’t won any big games in conference play…yet.
The Huskies started the year 14-0 and won the first 13 by double-digits. Since, they’ve won just three of nine games and are 0-3 against ranked opponents.
UConn will make the NCAA Tournament, unless they fall into the ultimate losing streak in the final month, which won’t happen.
They’re good enough to beat any team on any given day, but what would worry me as a UConn fan would be that the team played its best basketball in November and December.
Dan Hurley is a phenomenal coach, but has not won an NCAA Tournament game at UConn, losing in the first round each of the last two years, both times as the higher seed.
In fact, UConn hasn’t won a tournament game since the national championship win in 2014 over Kentucky. This Connecticut team is way too good to let this streak continue.
Forget a single tournament win, there’s a sneaky hotseat in Storrs, CT if Hurley can’t get this team to at least the second weekend of the Big Dance.