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No. 11 Georgetown hopes to rebound against Providence

Feb 18, 2008 - 5:43 PM No. 11 Georgetown (20-4) at Providence (13-12) 4:00 pm EST

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (Ticker) - Thanks to two Big East losses in its last three games, Georgetown has turned the race for the conference title into a four-team battle.

Coming off a disappointing 77-70 loss at Syracuse on Saturday, the Hoyas look to get back on track Monday when they visit Providence.

Saturday's loss dropped Georgetown (20-4, 10-3 Big East) into a tie for first place with Louisville. Connecticut and Notre Dame are just one-half game behind the Hoyas and Cardinals.

Saturday's contest was not as close as the score indicated as the Hoyas trailed, 38-22, at halftime before a second-half rally fell short.

"Road wins have been difficult," Hoyas' coach John Thompson III said. "You can't be negligent in any area in our league this year. We've been in some difficult places during the course of this year. It didn't necessarily affect us."

Senior center Roy Hibbert averages 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Hoyas, 4-3 on the road in conference games. All four of Georgetown's losses this season - including a non-conference defeat at Memphis - have come away from home.

While Georgetown has dropped two of three straight, Providence has lost three straight and seven of its last eight contests. The Friars played well against Louisville on Saturday before suffering an 80-72 defeat.

Junior guard Jeff Xavier leads Providence (13-12, 4-9) in scoring at 12.4 points per game.

The Friars are tied for 13th in the Big East with St. John's and only the top 12 teams qualify for the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.

This is the only meeting of the season between the teams who did did not face each other last season. The Friars have won two of the last three contests.