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Game 9 - Georgetown (5-3) vs. Syracuse (6-3)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: December 9, 2023
Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena - Washington, DC
How to Watch: FOX
Matchup History: Syracuse leads all-time series 53-45
Last Meeting: Syracuse def. Georgetown 83-64 on 12/10/22
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Georgetown +1.5
Over/Under: 153
Prediction: Georgetown 71, Syracuse 60
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Head Coach: Ed Cooley (1st season, 5-3 record at Georgetown)
Record: 5-3 (0-0, T-7th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost vs. TCU 84-83 on 12/2/23
Player to Watch: Jayden Epps
It was a day to forget for the Georgetown Hoyas last Saturday, December 2, as Georgetown fell to undefeated TCU on a controversial buzzer beater, losing 84-83.
TCU’s Emanuel Miller banked in a three at the buzzer while falling out of bounds to knock out the Hoyas and move the Horned Frogs to 7-0 on the year. Miller finished with a game-high 29 points.
The only problem was that Miller’s right foot on the shot was clearly out of bounds, which should have discounted the shot, giving the Hoyas a 83-81 win.
The call on the floor that the shot was good, and only the question of, ‘did he get the shot off before the clock expired?’ is reviewable on the play. It is not reviewable to check whether or not Miller’s foot was out of bounds on the play.
Therefore, TCU walked out of Capital One Arena with the win, handing Georgetown the most brutal of defeats yet suffered under Head Coach Ed Cooley.
"We had opportunities throughout the game,” Cooley said to the media following the game. “We missed a lot of free throws, missed a couple of blockouts, and everybody's going to think about the last play, would've, could've, should've. Give them credit. They had to throw the pass, the kid caught it, and he made the shot."
The Hoyas don’t have time to dwell on what could have been. On Saturday, Georgetown welcomes in its oldest rival to Capital One Arena, Syracuse.
This is the 99th all-time meeting between the two schools, with the majority of those matchups occurring in the old Big East Conference.
Once, the two programs were led by legendary coaches, who both brought national titles to their respective schools. Of course, I’m talking about John Thompson III for Georgetown and Jim Boeheim for Syracuse.
For the first time ever, the series between Georgetown and Syracuse will see two first-year head coaches go head-to-head; Ed Cooley vs. Adrian Autry.
The Hoyas should have all the motivation they need, having come off a heartbreaking loss last week and a defeat to the Orange last season in upstate New York.
The schools have played every year since the 2015-16 season. The home team has won each of the past five matchups.
Head Coach: Adrian Autry (1st season, 6-3 record at Syracuse)
Record: 6-3 (0-1, T-9th in ACC)
Last Time Out: Won vs. Cornell 81-70 on 12/5/23
Player to Watch: Judah Mintz
For the first time since the 1975-76 season, Syracuse basketball is led by a head coach not named Jim Boeheim.
The legendary Syracuse coach led the Orange for 47 seasons, taking over as head coach before the Big East even existed.
In his 47 years, he led Syracuse to 35 NCAA Tournaments, 5 Final Fours, 10 Big East Regular Season titles, and 1 National Championship in 2003.
Now, the Orange are led by Adrian Autry, who was an assistant under Boeheim for 12 years before taking over as head coach.
It’s his first ever head coaching job at any level of basketball.
Syracuse has missed the NCAA Tournament back-to-back years entering 2023-24. They had not missed back-to-back tournaments since 2006-2008, but they still won 45 games across those two seasons.
Over the last two, the Orange are just 33-32, with Autry taking over the program in the worst condition it’s been in since before Boeheim took over.
Autry has his team at 6-3 to start his inaugural year, having played a very difficult schedule. The Orange’s three losses have all been against ranked foes Tennessee and Gonzaga, along with a conference road loss to currently 8-1 Virginia.
Judah Mintz is the star scorer for this Syracuse team. In a 80-57 win over LSU on November 28, the 6’4” guard out of Fort Washington, MD dropped 33 points.
He’s led Syracuse in scoring in five of its first nine games and leads the team with 19.6 PPG, shooting 46.7% from three.
The matchup to watch will likely be Mintz vs. Georgetown’s leading scorer Jayden Epps in what should be a terrific old rivalry game on Saturday in DC.