GAME THREAD: Georgetown at No. 8 Xavier

Jan 21, 2023 - 1:00 PM

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Game 20: Georgetown Hoyas (5-14, 0-8) at No. 8 Xavier Musketeers (15-4, 7-1)

When: Saturday at noon

Where: Cintas Center (Cincinnati, OH)

TV: FS1 (Matt Schumacker and Nick Bahe)

Radio: Team 980, Sirius XM 382 (Rich Chvotkin - 49th season)

Series: Xavier leads 18-6

Last Meeting: Xavier won the first meeting this season 102-89 on Dec. 16.

Georgetown Quick Look:
KenPom: 229 - Offense (175), Defense (276)
Best Win: Siena (161)
Net: 251
Last 5: LLLLL
KenPom Projected Record: 6-25 (1-19) with a 20.4% chance of going winless in the Big East

No. Xavier Quick Look:
KenPom: 19 - Offense (8), Defense (85)
Best Win: UConn (6)
Net: 22
Last 5: LWWWW
KenPom Projected Record: 22-9 (14-6)

KenPom Prediction: Xavier 91-71 — 88%

Line: Georgetown +19.5 o/u 158.5

Well it’s gameday for Georgetown which of course means yet another chance at ending the worst losing streak in the history of the Big East.

After giving up a late lead at Villanova on MLK Day the Hoyas losing streaks are up to 28 games in the Big East and also 33 games against major conference teams. Seems hard to believe but those numbers are very, very real.

Whatever opportunity Patrick Ewing and Co. had at catching Xavier in a trap game situation before the Musketeers travel to UConn went flying out the window on Wednesday night in Chicago. DePaul held on for dear life in handing Sean Miller’s guys their first loss since Nov. 27. All it took was for starting guards Souley Boum and Colby Jones to shoot an ice cold 4 for 26 from the field. The Musketeers missed what felt like 25 layups.

So anyway, the element of surprise is definitely out.

As you can see above Georgetown is close to a 20 point underdog. This of course means that for the fourth time this season a Hoyas win (we miss that call from Rich) would be the biggest upset in modern Georgetown history. Right now the biggest upset for the Hoyas - from a Vegas perspective since at least the mid 90s - is that 86-79 victory at Creighton in 2021 as 14 point dogs.

Georgetown did fare better in their last outing - a 77-73 loss at Nova - with the return of Brandon Murray and the emergence of Jordan Riley. The Hoyas need to find a way to play more as a team as their lack of passing down the stretch doomed them yet again.

THAT ONE TIME

Georgetown is 1-9 all-time at Xavier. While that’s obviously awful, that lone victory was pretty memorable. The Musketeers were ranked No. 5 and favored by 10 points but that didn’t stop the Hoyas backcourt back on Jan. 19, 2016. Tre Campbell and DSR combined to go 9 for 16 from deep while the Hoyas dished out 21 assists and outrebounded Xavier squad that would go on to earn a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After the win Georgetown was 12-7, 5- and looked to be a solid bubble team. They reached 6-2 in the league before falling off a cliff and finishing 7-11. That was the last season the Hoyas were above .500 in the league in January. Good times.

Alright. Have at it and leave your comments!