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Georgetown-Rutgers Preview

Feb 14, 2010 - 8:11 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Georgetown (18-5) at Rutgers (12-12), 4:00 p.m. EDT

Guilty once this season of overlooking a less-imposing opponent before facing a more high-profile one, Georgetown hopes to prove it's learned its lesson.

Before facing the second-ranked team in the nation next week, the No. 7 Hoyas look to win their ninth straight over Rutgers on Sunday in a Big East matchup.

Earlier this month, Georgetown was preparing to take on then-No. 2 Villanova following an impressive victory over a ranked Duke team. However, the excitement over a meeting between Top 10 teams was tempered somewhat after the Hoyas were stunned 72-64 at home by South Florida prior to taking on the Wildcats.

Georgetown (18-5, 8-4) is in a similar position heading into Sunday.

On Thursday, it will play host to No. 2 Syracuse, looking to avenge an earlier road loss to the Orange before matching up with Rutgers (12-12, 2-9).

Georgetown faced another struggling Big East foe earlier this week, and coach John Thompson III couldn't have been pleased with what he saw against Providence on Tuesday. His team trailed 47-40 before going on a 12-1 run to take control en route to a 79-70 victory.

"This was a game where things were not going well for us in a lot of different ways," Thompson said. "We were extremely frustrated for large parts of that game."

The Hoyas shot 51.7 percent and limited Providence to 34.4 percent, but were outrebounded 42-31 and gave up 22 offensive boards, leading to 20 second-chance points for the Friars.

Chris Wright scored 21 points, 16 in the second half, and Julian Vaughn added a career-high 19. Leading scorer Austin Freeman finished with 17, but was held to fewer than 20 for the first time in five games.

The Hoyas had little trouble putting away Rutgers last month, winning 88-63 on Jan. 23. They shot 63.0 percent in the victory, led by 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists from Greg Monroe.

Although the Scarlet Knights are near the bottom of the Big East, they have won three of four. They are coming off a 70-62 victory over Division II Caldwell College on Tuesday.

Mike Rosario scored 25 points and Jonathan Mitchell added 14 and seven rebounds. After allowing the Cougars to stay close in the second half, Rutgers pulled away with a 14-3 run to make it 57-44 with 9:29 remaining.

This is the latest Rutgers has been at .500 in four years under coach Fred Hill.

"These are very difficult games when you're in the middle of the Big East season," Hill said. "Obviously we're more talented and when you don't play with the same enthusiasm and the passion and defensive pride that allows you to compete and do certain things, these are typically tough games."

The Scarlet Knights are 0-5 against ranked opponents this season, losing by an average of 23.0 points. Their last win over a Top 25 team was a 77-64 victory at Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2008.

Rosario, who leads Rutgers at 16.7 points per game, is averaging 13.6 against ranked teams. He scored 15 against Georgetown.

The Hoyas have won eight straight over the Scarlet Knights since a 66-59 loss in 2003.