Georgetown looking to knock of No. 2-ranked Villanova at home
All season long, Georgetown has tried to not look backwards or forwards. But on Thursday, the Hoyas were doing a bit of both with the pain of Wednesday’s upset the night before by unranked South Florida still lingering and a massive winter storm set to bear down on Washington this weekend.
“We missed some shots we normally make,” said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III. “That’s what you have to weather — no pun intended with what is coming — those storms, because you can’t always control whether the shots go in.”
After each of their first four defeats this season, the Hoyas (16-5, 6-4 Big East) bounced back even stronger than they had before. But Thompson said, “I’m human,” admitting that the Bulls loss was sitting with him, and players were doing some soul searching ahead of their rematch with the Wildcats (20-1, 9-0), who will also be Georgetown’s highest ranked opponent of the season.
“We’re usually a team that gives effort basically the whole game,” said sophomore guard Jason Clark. “I don’t know if it was guys being tired physically or mentally, but we just didn’t have that effort that we usually have.”
Effort is unlikely to be an issue for Villanova senior guard Scottie Reynolds, whose final pilgrimage to the place he called his Madison Square Garden in December, when the Wildcats beat Maryland in the BB&T Classic, will be much
like his first college game there three years ago — with a section full of hundreds of red-clad supporters from his hometown of Herndon.
“That was the first time it hit me at how big he was in that community,” said Villanova head coach Jay Wright of that visit in Feb. 2007. “It has turned into the same type of relationship [at Villanova], and I think that’s because of what kind of kid he is. He’s more interested in being a part of something bigger than himself than he is getting individual attention.”
Nevertheless, Reynolds is averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.
“He’s always been a smart player who is able to score,” said Clark. “He does a lot more with his teammates now, getting them involved and encouraging them. You can tell he’s a leader for them.”
It may be more likely that neither Reynolds nor Georgetown have many fans in the building due to the snow. But the game is expected to go on as scheduled. Villanova was scheduled to travel to Washington on Friday morning, and both teams, along with officials and operations staff, are expected to stay in hotels near Verizon Center on Friday night.
“Hopefully the Verizon Center isn’t too empty. But obviously, mother nature’s going to make that call.”
