Hoyas host Musketeers in Big East battle

Jan 27, 2015 - 3:26 PM Washington, D.C. (SportsNetwork.com) - Looking to build on a three-game win streak, the now 21st-ranked Georgetown Hoyas will open up the Verizon Center Tuesday evening to host the Xavier Musketeers in a Big East Conference showdown.

Georgetown comes into the contest having won each of its last three games, including recent huge victories over Villanova (78-58) and Marquette (95-85 OT) that propelled the team into the new Top-25 poll. The Hoyas find themselves at 6-2 in conference play heading into Tuesday, with a 10-1 mark on their home court.

Xavier has been up and down a lot in the last few weeks, with more down results than anything else. The Musketeers have dropped three of their last five games, but are coming off an 89-76 win over DePaul on Saturday. Xavier is 4-4 against Big East competition, and just 1-5 in road games.

Xavier and Georgetown are relatively new Big East rivals, and have met on the court nine times in history with this clash set to be the 10th. The Musketeers lead the all-time series over the Hoyas, 6-3, with a 70-53 victory over Georgetown already this season.

Hoping to bounce back from a tough loss to Providence just last week, Xavier found itself down to DePaul at halftime this past Saturday by eight points, 50-42. But a furious second-half comeback drove the Musketeers past the Blue Demons, thanks to a 65.4 shooting percentage in the frame. Myles Davis led the charge for Xavier with 25 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Trevon Bluiett came off the bench to hit 8-of-10 from the floor for 21 points. Center Matt Stainbrook netted 17 points with seven boards and six assists, and J.P. Macura rounded out a foursome of double-digit scorers in the contest with 10 points.

Xavier has been able to completely obliterate opponents this season by using a strong scoring offense that leads the Big East averaging 77.8 ppg. The team is led individually by Stainbrook, who contributes 12.9 ppg along with a team- best 7.2 rpg mark. Bluiett checks in at second on the team behind Stainbrook's scoring total with 12.3 ppg, and Myles Davis adds in 10.8 ppg, though the guard has largely done it while coming off the bench, having registered just two starts this season. Dee Davis has reprised his point guard role this season to the tune of 116 assists through the team's first 20 games, and has notched 35 steals to help out a defense that has underwhelmed, allowing opponents to score 68.6 ppg - one of the worst totals in the league.

Georgetown allowed a six-point lead at halftime against Marquette to slip away, and the Hoyas needed overtime to take down the Golden Eagles on the road. Six players for Georgetown recorded double figures in the contest, led by D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera's 19 points (and five assists). Joshua Smith registered a double-double of 18 points with 15 rebounds, and Isaac Copeland contributed 17 points with six rebounds off the bench. Tre Campbell added 14 points, Mikael Hopkins chipped in with 13, and Aaron Bowen scored 11 in the 95-point outburst for the Hoyas.

Georgetown's offense ranks right up there with some of the best in the Big East this season, as the Hoyas currently net 73.1 ppg 46.9 percent shooting from the floor. Smith-Rivera has come alive once again this season, and leads the team in individual scoring with 15.2 ppg. He's followed in the double- digit department by Smith, who tallies 12.6 ppg, adding in a team-best 6.9 rpg mark to his resume. Smith-Rivera isn't just a flat-put scorer, however, as the guard leads the team in both assists (67) and steals (32). Georgetown's scoring defense has come in a little bit better than Xavier's this season, allowing 65.6 ppg to opponents.